EXPLAINER-Why retail has lost its sparkle for private equity firms

Private equity firms made billions of dollars betting on major U.S. retailers, clothing and accessories and restaurant chains, reshaping the consumer sector from the 1990s to the early 2010s. But over the past 10 years the big firms, including Carlyle and Warburg Pincus, collectively pulled back on investing in the sector, reflecting changing consumer tastes and competition from corporate buyers and family offices.