Here are the 16 biggest bankruptcies of the 'retail apocalypse' of 2017

2017 hasn't been an easy year for the retail industry.

More than 6,400 store closures have been announced so far this year. Mall traffic has dropped, and retailers such as Payless, Rue21, and Toys R Us have struggled to compete with ecommerce rivals.

For some companies, the pressure became too much. A growing list of retailers have declared bankruptcy.

Here are the most notable retail bankruptcies to happen so far in 2017: