Liquidation: Linens 'n Things To No Longer Sell Linens, Things
Plans to auction off Linens 'n Things were scrapped Monday night, says the Wall Street Journal, dooming the housewares retailer to liquidation by the end of the year. Apparently, no bidder was willing to offer more than the 475.5 million dollars offered by a group of liquidators who wanted to shut the retailer down.
The "winners" include Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, who were responsible for the liquidation of CompUsa, Sharper Image and Tweeter. Their involvement pretty much guarantees that the "going out of business" sales will be unimpressive -- and expensive, as Gordon Brothers has a reputation for raising prices.
Linens 'n Things to Be Liquidated [WSJ] (Thanks, Wayne!
(Photo: Getty)
Post a comment
Comments:
My mom shops there. She bought me some velvet curtains. I don't know if she goes there a lot. I'll have to tell her about this; she might not know. Thanks for posting it.
no more " things " ...
WHAT will we do ?
when did Tweeter go out of business they are still in delaware?
Hmmm.... someone left our company to be a store manager at Linens N' Things less than a year ago. I guess maybe that wasn't such a good choice.
I always thought that store should have been renamed to "Linens 'n Shit".
Because that's what I always called it.
Oh no...does that mean i'll stop getting an endless supply of Bed Bath and Beyond coupons in my mailbox? Where am I going to buy overpriced kitchen gadgets now?
@mazda3jdm: Tweeter closed a bunch of stores back in 2007...I don't know how their remaining stores are still open as whenever I drive by one, they'll be only a handful of cars in the lot.
LnT was high on my list of stores that deserve to die. For anyone that does a shred of research on prices before shopping, it's a non-destination.
I offered to buy the chain for $10, using their 20% off coupon, since everything in the store is marked up that much anyway and that's how they do business. Guess they turned it down. Perhaps retailers will learn (doubtful) that that business model DOESN'T WORK. NOT excited about the liquidation, but you KNOW morons will STILL buy it up because they're too stupid to know the difference. Ah, America, home of the dumb
They already closed ours. The "Going out of Business SAAAAAAALE" signs were everywhere for a few months, but a look at the huge yellow price tags showed those $39.99 curtains were marked down to the amazing low price of $37.99. I bought nothing and am not sad to see them go.
I left my company for a management position at Linens and Things in January. They laid me off in two months time cause they couldn't afford to pay me. I went back to my previous employer where I have been since.
They can crash and burn as far as I'm concerned.
@mbz32190:
May I suggest Pampered Chef for your overpriced kitchen gadget fix.
Plus, with PC, you get the added benefit of being pressured to attend additional parties, which include an almost binding requirement to buy 'at least something'.
Good riddance. These people mastered the "you are ordering online, so we will send you junk" concept. I remember ordering 5 things, and all 5 were clearly returns that no one would have bought if they were lying on a shelf.
Wow, that's a surprise.
Guess all the people borrowing heavily against their inflated assets to purchase heavily overpriced "things" at this store have dried up. Was one of those stores I would occasionally enter just to walk around in amazement that people would actually pay those prices for all that output from Chinese prisons. Becomes a "store of last resort" for anyone with any intelligence about money, perhaps the moneydrunk dummies are harder to come by nowadays.
Next stop on the overpriced store bankruptcy train: Bloodbath and Beyond.
@Zeniq: Yes, but now I won't be able to print out those 20% L&N coupons before I go to BBB and actually have to keep track of the BBB ones from the mail.
@BlondeGrlz: Same here. When I see them playing that game and people actually rewarding them with money I feel deeply sad for our society.
"The winners" ? With as many stores they are closing most of the liquidation companies had to join together to bid the stores.
Most deals in the liquidations do not get good until the 2nd half of the closing from what I have seen. So you have to try and stall as long as possible before you spend any cash.
Huh ... the "brand" didn't even have any value to anybody. That's telling.
sweet! i love liquidation sales!
Both LnT and BB&B are ridiculously overpriced, IMO. Only the coupons make it even worth a glance in either store. That being said, we did take the daughter there and used up ALL my hoarded BB&B coupons while furnishing her dorm room this August.
I'm not worried at all. I'm going to start my own SMC home based business and I'm going to make obscene amounts of money each month and have unlimited shit at my disposal.
Tom Bosley said so.
@EdnaLegume: Save one of those overpriced dog statues for me. Any other statues your great Aunt Bea wouldn't put in her house, save those too!
The wife left a management position at LNT a year ago to take a similar position at Trader Joes. What a mistake that wa... er, wait. No, that was a pretty good gamble (even with the slight pay cut and really weird hours)
@AMetamorphosis:
It's so true! I'm the kind of person that knows when I'm in a Petsmart, etc. but I couldn't tell you if it's a Linens or BBB that's up the street from me. In fact I'll probably quote this story to someone saying that Bed Bath and Beyond closed
@katylostherart: When you raise prices 50% and then knock them down 30%, it's not really a sale, is it?
Excellent. Now I won't have to buy any more overpriced wedding gifts from their registry.
Yeah, there's a Linens & Things closing here and I went into their clearance closing sales ... 20% off is clearance? The store was wiped out though, so I guess people are desperate enough for a few bucks off. I for one did some early Christmas shopping!
@samurailynn: someone turned down a job with my company last summer to work for Lehman Brothers. Of course they were back here interviewing a few weeks ago...
tweeter is still open in NOVA.
I had one great experience at LNT in NY recently. the only good experience ever. I wanted a zarafina tea machine. Originally it was $150 and came down to about $100 (from the company itself) recently and in other stores. Sharper image in their closeout had it for $85. At an LNT in NY in the beginning of their liq, had it on sale for 15% off $150. I waited a month or so, went back to check it out when I was in town for their last weekend and they were on sale for $30. I took all 3 units left.
Too bad "BBQs Galore", which is closing down also, ran out of the Big Green Egg units. I waited too long.
Dang. There goes my chance at snapping up some cheap Henkle knives... pooh.
Too busy with Amway/Quixtar/Acai juice meetings, sorry. Oh, and I have a Cutco demo to attend and a Kirby vac demo shortly after
i prophesize:
they raise the prices for 'clearance'
they close their stores with piles of junk still on the shelves
they sell it at a loss to places like big lots
i get new sheets/towels/pillows for practically nothing.
i've got a couple of years worth of my favorite shampoo/conditioner that i got for pennies on the dollar at big lots when this happened to eckerds in their closeout/sale to rite aid.
@ShortBus: Hands down Trader Joe's has to be a happier work environment. At least they smile at me whenever I ask stupid questions.
The thing you were paying for at L&T and BBB was convenience. You knew they would have whatever item it was you were looking for.
With L&T going to a liquidator it means all of the good stuff will be sold off to other retailers. You won't see it at the liquidation party.
I thought this post had a great headline.
(I hope this doesn't run afoul of the comments code.)
Too bad...I never went there anyway. Bed Bath & Beyond kicks LNT's ass!
This makes me sad. Now I'll have to go to Bed Bath and Beyond and get the exact same products for the exact same price in the exact same store layout...