Amid recent rumors that the company that now owns RadioShack is preparing to file for bankruptcy, and scattered reports of store closures around the U.S., we started noticing signs — very literal ones — that the company could be making a concerted effort to shut down stores. [More]
retail
Report: Neiman Marcus Hires Investment Firm To Explore Debt Restructuring
By 3.6.17
Nearly a year after rumors began swirling that Neiman Marcus was in the market for a buyer in order to get out from a $5 billion debt load, the luxury department store has reportedly hired an investment bank to boost its bottom line. [More]
Company Born From RadioShack’s Ashes May File For Bankruptcy
By 3.3.17 — Updated: 3.4.17
After RadioShack filed for bankruptcy in 2015, a new company — formed by a partnership between Sprint and the Shack’s new owners at Standard General — rose out of the ashes. Now comes news that this company, General Wireless, may also be facing bankruptcy. [More]
hhgregg Closing 88 Stores And 3 Distribution Centers: Here’s The List
By 3.2.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
hhgregg, a retailer whose name we assure you we have capitalized correctly, is closing 40% of its stores across the country. The company calls this a plan to “advance turnaround,” while its stock has been delisted from the New York Stock Exchange for having too low a share price, and rumors swirl that it’s planning to file for bankruptcy protection. [More]
Abercrombie & Fitch Shuttering 60 U.S. Stores This Year, Probably More To Come
By 3.2.17
After closing 53 U.S. locations last year, Abercrombie & Fitch says another 60 domestic stores are heading for the garbage pile as the company continues to struggle to bring in customers. [More]
Barnes & Noble Blames Coloring Books And Adele For 8% Decline In Sales
By 3.2.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
Investors don’t want to hear that a retailer’s sales are down, so when Barnes & Noble had to explain to its backers and to industry analysts why comparable stores sales figures were down 8.3% over last year, the bookseller had some scapegoats to blame: coloring books and Adele. [More]
Best Buy Sales Fall Slightly, But It’s The Electronics Industry’s Fault
By 3.1.17
After years of what seemed like certain retail doom at the hands of Amazon, Best Buy has recently managed to mount an impressive recovery, thanks to things like adding mini-stores for brands, embracing its role as an electronics showroom, and price-matching competitors. However, the chain’s latest sales results show that some things are far beyond the company’s control. Like self-immolating smartphones. [More]
BCBG Max Azria Reportedly Prepping For Bankruptcy
By 2.28.17
Earlier this month, BCBG Max Azria Group announced the closure of nearly 120 stores, setting off rumors that it would soon join the growing list of mall tenants filing for bankruptcy. Now comes a report claiming that this filing could happen as soon as next week. [More]
Target CEO: The Retail Landscape Hasn’t Been This Bad Since The Recession
By 2.28.17
Brick-and-mortar retail is in trouble. You can tell that from reports on this very site of retail bankruptcies and store closings, and from the number of Amazon boxes piled in front of your and your neighbors’ front doors. Today, Target executives shared discouraging news of falling sales and profits at its investors day event, and explained that the chain’s way forward is to imitate Walmart. [More]
Here’s A Snap-On Bluetooth Skimmer Spotted Out In The Wild
By 2.27.17
Have you ever wondered how a retailer can leave a Bluetooth skimmer on a payment card terminal in its stores for weeks at a time? It’s harder to detect the devices than you might think, because crooks have their own places to shop for spare parts that snap right on a payment terminal and are hard to spot if you aren’t looking for them. [More]
Family Christian Closing All 240 Stores
By 2.27.17 — Updated: 3.14.17
After 85 years in business, Family Christian is closing for good, shutting down all 240 of its retail stores. [More]
Wendy’s Installing Self-Ordering Kiosks In 1,000 Restaurants
By 2.27.17
Don’t like having to talk to a real, live person when you want to order food? You won’t have to if you’re visiting one of 1,000 Wendy’s locations with self-ordering kiosks. [More]
Sears’ Empty Sales Floors May Be Turning Customers Off
By 2.24.17 — Updated: 5.10.17
It should be pretty easy to tell a fully operational department store from one that it is closing down, but some Sears shoppers have found that their local store is not doing much to alleviate concerns about the company’s death spiral. [More]
The New American Apparel Brand Will Include Clothing Not Actually Made In America
By 2.24.17
Like a phoenix made of bodysuits and brightly colored leg warmers*, American Apparel will rise from the ashes of its second bankruptcy, reformed as a brand with new Canadian owners who say they will make some American Apparel outside of America. [More]
HomeGoods Parent Company Opening New Home Goods Store That Won’t Be Called HomeGoods
By 2.22.17
TJX Companies — better known as the parent company of TJMaxx and Marshall’s — already has a well-known furnishings and decor store called HomeGoods, but the company apparently believes there’s room for a new, entirely separate set of stores that also sell stuff you might want for your home. [More]
Survey: People Don’t Really Want Fancy Technology To Help Them Shop
By 2.22.17
While retailers are falling all over themselves trying to incorporate the latest and greatest retail technology — anything from smart mirrors in fitting rooms to robots that answer questions you’d ask store employees — frankly, shoppers just don’t seem to give a damn. [More]
Macy’s Will Add 34 More Stores To The Garbage Heap “Over The Next Few Years”
By 2.21.17
Just last month, Macy’s announced that it would be shutting down 68 stores across the country. Today, the retailer clarified its previously disclosed plans to eventually close a total of around 100 locations by confirming that 34 Macy’s stores will be tossed on the garbage pile “over the next few years.” [More]
Amazon Reduces Minimum On Free Shipping For Non-Prime Customers
By 2.21.17
Almost exactly one year after Amazon increased the free-shipping minimum on non-Prime customers from $35 to $49, the e-commerce giant has decided to revert back to the old $35 minimum. [More]
