It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April 1995, ended 27 locations, and unloaded $40 million worth of old merchandise that was in its warehouses.
[4] The store chain itself had a hard time competing against big box retailers that were rapidly expanding into the area like Walmart and Target, and also with the advent of online shopping and the rise of household Internet use, Weiner's also suffered as they were slow to adopt online retail.
[4] The Houston Business Journal said in an editorial that Weiner's "struggled to emerge from the shadows of big-box competitors like Wal-Mart and Target, which attracted customers with one-stop retail shopping."
Bankruptcy became the obvious alternative as those with an appetite for higher quality and an appreciation for the manufacturing origin and sales of such products became more evident.
On Tuesday June 26, 2001, after 75 years of operation, the company announced that it was liquidating; all 97 of its stores would close, and all 2,900 employees would be laid off.