New York (CNN Business) Everything old is new again — especially in retail.

Once-popular stores have disappeared as the retail industry is faced with a major upheaval. Online shopping and changing consumer tastes have wrecked some retail brands, forcing some iconic companies out of business.

But some of them don't stay dead forever.

Reviving an old and well-known brand is an easy way for companies to re-enter a sector without starting from scratch, according to Neil Saunders, managing director at GlobalData Retail.

"There is a view that businesses can capitalize on the memory of the old brands and make them work again," he told CNN Business, albeit in a different format, such as a smaller footprint or exclusively online.