STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- With all brick-and-mortar retail shuttered across the county due to coronavirus (COVID-19), many national retailers have reportedly been looking into bankruptcy options.

Even though online sales have increased for many retailers at this time, profits had plummeted for many chains even before the pandemic began.

"[The] outlook is not good for other brick-and-mortar retailers, especially heavily leveraged ones,” said Richard LaRocca, who holds a dual doctorate in finance and international economics, and is a professor of finance at Wagner College.

“Even though online shopping accounts for approximately 10% of retail sales, the coronavirus outbreak has definitely had an influence on how we shop,” he added.

According to NJ.com, a sister site to SILive.com, these companies are preparing for the worst-case scenario.

5 RETAILERS LOOKING INTO BANKRUPTCY

1- AMC Theaters

The national movie theater chain is contemplating bankruptcy since the coronavirus shuttered its theaters, according to a report by Marketwatch. A new expansive AMC dine-in theater opened last year in the Staten Island Mall in New Springville.

2-JCPenney

JCPenney is exploring filing for bankruptcy protection, according to a report by Reuters.

The report says that while JCPenney has enough money to “survive” for the next few months, it’s still looking at bankruptcy as an option. JCPenney has been an anchor tenant in the Staten Island Mall for more than four decades.

3-Lord & Taylor

Lord & Taylor is trying to seek relief from creditors to avoid bankruptcy, according to a report by Reuters.

While there is no Lord & Taylor on Staten Island, there are stores in nearby Westfield, N.J., and in Manhattan.

4-Neiman Marcus

Neiman Marcus -- which has two nearby New Jersey locations at Westfield Garden State Plaza in Paramus, and in the Mall at Short Hills in Livingston -- could file for bankruptcy as early as next week, said a report in NJ.com.

In March, Neiman Marcus said it would shutter its “Last Call” outlet locations, the report said.

5-True Religion

High-end jeans designer True Religion has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy twice in three years, according to Forbes.

True Religion -- which has several N.J. stores and one outlet store on Staten Island -- said that “while the debtors would have preferred to wait-out the current instabilities of the financial markets and retail industry generally, they simply could not afford to do so,” the report said.

***** CLICK HERE FOR MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE ****

FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER