Although the market exit is a frequent aspect of international expansion, it has remained underexplored in the international marketing literature. In this study, we seek to understand why many multinational retail enterprises (MREs), with capabilities beyond their ordinary counterparts, miscalculate their survival prospects in some of their host countries despite stellar successes elsewhere. Our study addresses the question of what ensures MRE longevity in foreign markets. In accordance with organizational ecology theory, we develop hypotheses that predict the external and internal drivers of MRE longevity. Toward this end, we compiled 224 exit and stay cases on a global scale and employed the Cox Proportional Hazards model for the analysis. Our study demonstrates the significance of international presence, internationalization tenure, internationalization scope, market share growth at home, and market share growth in the host country, network of stores in the host country, and retailer type in explaining the MRE longevity phenomenon. The results of the study have rich implications for advancing theoretical and managerial knowledge in international marketing and retailing.