Companies previously intent on expansion and growth turned to cost-cutting, making redundancies and shutting loss-making stores.
In such an environment, "losers" are not hard to find, although some companies have been especially vulnerable.

Meanwhile, the winners were those who acted swiftly to respond to the changing circumstances and offered real value to customers and who - perhaps most importantly - maintained a dynamic approach, despite enduring the worst retail environment for generations.

WINNERS
1: Uniqlo
In a grim year for recession-battered Japan, Uniqlo emerged bigger and stronger than its rivals, helping parent company Fast Retailing to a full-year profit of JPY49.7bn, up 14%, with sales soaring 17% to JPY685bn.

Uniqlo's stores in Japan saw same-store sales rise 11.3% on the year, but it was the company's expansion into other Asian markets which caught the eye.

China, Hong Kong and South Korea are all on Uniqlo's radar, and the company opened its first stores in Singapore this year - with plans to hit Russia in 2010.

2: Primark
Primark continued to benefit from the support of cost-conscious consumers during the UK recession in 2009. Full-year operating profits rose 8% to GBP252mn, while revenues increased 19.7% to GBP2.3bn, with same store sales up 7%.
Expansion into Europe is assured, with a focus on Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, Spain and Belgium.
The only blemish was Primark's product sourcing, with charity War on Want accusing it of using sweatshop labour via a third-party supplier in Bangladesh. Primark said it had tightened up its ethical trading policies.

3: Zara/Inditex
Keeping your strategic vision intact in the midst of a global economic downturn is no easy task - but it's one that Inditex and its Zara chain in particular accomplished.
Despite feeling the pinch in core markets like Spain and the UK, the company continued to expand Zara and stablemates Pull & Bear and Bershka - with 95% of new store openings outside Spain.
France, Italy, Eastern Europe and Asia were all on Inditex's hit list, and it now has 4,530 stores in over 70 countries.

4: J Crew
The rollercoaster ride of upscale retailer J Crew in 2009 proved that you don't have to do "cheap and cheerful" to be successful.
What you do have to do is trim costs, keep inventories lean and - crucially - give customers what they want. J Crew achieved all these, but not without an awkward beginning to the year.
Fourth-quarter same-store sales plummeted 13% and pension contributions were suspended.
By November all was well again, with third-quarter profits of $43.9mn - more than double last year.

5: The Buckle
A retailer that sells predominantly other people's brands like The Buckle might look a relatively old-fashioned player on the US retail scene.
Not a bit of it. The company's constant drive to refresh its merchandise offer put it at or near the top of the charts in just-style's monthly US retail sales round-ups.

Beyond expanding to beyond 400 stores, The Buckle benefited from a boom in online sales, which rose 39% in the company's second-quarter, helping overall revenues to jump 13.6%.

LOSERS
1: Liz Claiborne
For battered women's wear group Liz Claiborne, 2009 brought only an intensification of earlier pain: the company has shed 3,000 jobs since 2007, closing several distribution centers and shutting, selling or licensing 14 brands.

Liz is paying the price for years of aggressive expansion, built on a high-cost sourcing and distribution model.

Now this is being belatedly addressed through initiatives like the Li & Fung sourcing deal, and a new wholesaling agreement for the Liz Claiborne brand with JC Penney exiting the department store channel.

But double-digit sales declines remain the norm, with core businesses like Mexx Europe and US distribution the worst affected.

2: Abercrombie & Fitch
The teen-focused apparel retailer has a policy of eschewing markdowns and discounts, but that's a luxury few can currently afford.
After opening 2009 with a "nightmare" slump in fourth-quarter profit, Abercrombie & Fitch's year was punctuated with setbacks: 170 jobs axed at its Ohio headquarters, the shutting of its struggling Ruehl chain, and two discrimination lawsuits focused on its "look policy" dress code for staff.
By November, the US company was stocking cheaper items and unveiling a new blueprint of international growth, but it's a strategic shift that has come late in the day.

3: Sears
The story of Sears in 2009 is a familiar one of retail gloom.
Sears Holdings opened with a fourth-quarter profit reduced by more than half in February, led by an 11% same store sales decline for Sears, while Kmart was less badly affected.
That prompted renewed action to cut costs, as the company announced plans to shut 24 Sears stores.
In November, the company announced a third-quarter loss of $127mn, but said there were "encouraging signs" of a turnaround.

4: Arcandor
The sorry saga of Arcandor could serve as a parable for companies that outgrow their original ambitions.
The seeds were sown late in 2008, when Germany's largest department store company posted a EUR745mn full-year loss.
After the German government rejected a plea for state aid to repay loans of EUR710mn, the inevitable insolvency ensued.
Six months on, no buyer has been found, the closure of dozens of stores has been announced and the Quelle mail order business shut down. Any significant recovery in 2010 will be positively Lazarus-like.

5: The Talbots
There's a whiff of a new beginning about troubled retailer The Talbots, but 2009 was grim.
With hemorrhaging sales and huge losses, the company cut several hundred jobs and shut dozens of stores to cut costs. It also sold the assets of its J Jill business for a paltry US$75mn.

By December, largest shareholder Aeon exited the business, as BPW Acquisition Corp's arrival heralded a new dawn. There were faint glimmers of hope as the company's third-quarter revenues showed signs of recovery.