It was a bad day for big box retailers.

In the wake of J. C. Penney Company's (JCP) - Get Reportnews about liquidating inventory and downgrading its full-year forecast, shares for pretty much every single publicly traded department store were down on Monday, Oct. 30.

Even discounters couldn't escape the J.C. Penney malaise: (TJX) - Get Report , the parent company of TJ Maxx and Marshalls, was down nearly 2% Monday, to $69. Ross Stores, Inc. (ROST) - Get Report , another off-price department store, tumbled 0.8%. Unlike most fellow apparel retailers, both TJX and Ross fared well this year in earnings and posted positive comp sales.

Other retailers that slipped Monday? Kohl's Corporation (KSS) - Get Report , down 2.5% as of Monday afternoon; Dillard's, Inc. (DDS) - Get Report , 3%; Nordstrom, Inc. (JWN) - Get Report , 2.4%; L Brands Inc. (LB) - Get Report , which owns mall staples including Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works, 4.2%; and Macy's, Inc. (M) - Get Report , 4%.

Granted, most of these retailers were already slipping before the J.C. Penney announcement. But a second wave of analysts downgraded J.C. Penney Monday morning, Wall Street extended its scrutiny to the industry at large. Citi analyst Paul Lejeuz, for instance, downgraded Macy's in the wake of J.C. Penney plummeting shares, and Randal Konik of Jeffries cast doubt on L Brands.

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"In the current retail environment, we believe department stores are structurally disadvantaged to win," Lejeuz wrote in his highly cited Monday note recommending Macy's a sell, from hold. "JCP's weak 3Q serves as reminder of just how challenging the dept. store space is."

All traditional mall retailers are feeling the heat. So far this year, more than 6,000 retail storefronts have shuttered, according to consulting firm Fung Global Retail & Tech. That's a 203% increase since last year. Kohl's, Ross and TJX are among retailers that opened new stores this year, but not nearly enough to offset losses from its brethern. J.C. Penney, for instance, closed 138 stores alone; Macy's, 100.

"We remain hesitant with mall-based dept. stores," wrote Konik in another note Monday morning. "While we acknowledge the positive work JCP is doing to become less apparel-reliant (with initiatives like the expansion of home, appliances, beauty and salon), the sector faces intense secular headwinds."

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