Covid Era Bankruptcies (46)

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Midpack

Midpack

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Some I knew about, others I didn’t. Some surprising (to me), some not at all. And it’s not over I’m sure...

https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/covid-bankruptcy-companies-filings-coronavirus-pandemic/

Just some of the 46:
  • Pier 1
  • Cirque du Soleil
  • JC Penney
  • SteinMart
  • Pizza Hut (largest franchise)
  • J Crew
  • 24 Hour Fitness
  • Remington Arms
  • Sur la Table
  • Neiman Marcus
  • Aldo (shoes)
  • California Pizza Kitchen
  • Ann Taylor
  • Lane Bryant
  • Lucky Brand (jeans)
  • Brooks Brothers
  • Aeromexico
  • Chuck E Cheese
  • Hertz
  • Gold’s Gym
  • Dean & Deluca
  • GNC
  • Lord & Taylor
  • Papyrus
  • Libbey (glassware)
  • Men’s Warehouse
  • Bar Louie
 
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Men's Warehouse. I guess it's not a surprise with all the suits working from home.
 
Hmmmm - one of the few places that has carried sizes that fit tall slender DH. I guess we had better see what they have left, although DH bought several items in 2015. Oops, obviously we aren’t frequent shoppers.
 
Honestly I think most of these were one blip from folding anyway. Those that filed in the early weeks (RIP Neiman Marcus) clearly were running on a shoestring. Several like Penney's, Lord and Taylor, were often in the news with store closings and reductions well before all this.

And I won't weep for any of them. But I do feel more sad for all the small mom&pops that we won't hear about, especially one-person handmade shops who rely on weddings and events to drive their business, and craft shows to meet their customers.
 
Yep. I have agree. None of these would have surprised me in normal times.
 
Aerides said:
Honestly I think most of these were one blip from folding anyway.
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I agree. I was an early Brooks Brothers customer (starting in the late 1970s) and still have a beautiful camel hair coat from 1983 with a faded union label inside. I haven't needed to buy a dress winter coat since. The few times I looked into a Brooks Brothers store in recent years, quality had gone down and it was all made in China. They could have made the transition to Business Casual- there was always plenty of merchandise you could wear on the golf course- but they didn't make it.

Reminds me of 19 years ago when businesses teetering on the edge went under and blamed it on "the tragic events of Nine-One-One" when the truth was they'd been badly-managed for years.
 
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Interesting to see how many gave officers a big bonus right before declaring bankruptcy or attempted a large raise afterwards. You know most of these initial companies have been mismanaged for years and probably made poor financing decisions.
 
On at least a few of the 46 companies, it was not evident which bankruptcy Chapter the company filed. If Chapter 13, we may see the company hang on until potential better days but if the company filed under Chapter 7, the nails are in the coffin.
 
Traditional bricks & mortar retail has been struggling for a decade, at least. I wouldn't tie these failures to the pandemic, although it hasn't helped. But most of these were inevitable in any event.

CDRE said:
On at least a few of the 46 companies, it was not evident which bankruptcy Chapter the company filed. If Chapter 13, we may see the company hang on until potential better days but if the company filed under Chapter 7, the nails are in the coffin.
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Companies never file under Chapter 13, as that is available only for individuals. I think you may have meant Chapter 11 (reorganization), which is what most large companies file under. They may eventually convert to Chapter 7 (liquidation), but very few large companies start out that way.
 
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There are so many businesses where they keep raising debt in order to survive. It just takes one push and they fall off the cliff.

Out of the 46, I've only purchased something from Pizza Hut and Brooks Brothers over the past 5 years. I still have fond memories of Chuck E Cheese, from when I was young.
 
Creative destruction, right? The world had been changing and many of these weren't adjusting or didn't have a way to pivot. Sad for the people that thought they had secure employment, but good on the whole.
 
One I didn't see on the list, the parent company of Luby's and Fuddruckers restaurants is shutting down and liquidating the company.
 
jollystomper said:
One I didn't see on the list, the parent company of Luby's and Fuddruckers restaurants is shutting down and liquidating the company.
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I think this will become more common.

There was a local restaurant in Chicago, has a big patio. Even then the owner is shutting it down as said he couldn't break even at 50% capacity, so it was a money loser.
It had run for about 23 yrs.
He said the Fed $$$ handed out helped keep it going for a few months, but he's not going to spend all his savings and then have it close, better to close now.

Imagine all the restaurants without large patios, must be hurting even more.
 
The local Sur la Table closed its doors a couple weeks ago.
Sadly, The local bridal shop here has closed its doors, a lovely lady who has been in business for over 20 years--she had handmade dresses, or designer ones. Our daughter bought a ready made one and had her taylor it into a one of a kind.
She is a lovely lady and truly enjoyed her business and clients. She was in her 70's but so much energy!
 
jollystomper said:
One I didn't see on the list, the parent company of Luby's and Fuddruckers restaurants is shutting down and liquidating the company.
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Oh wow - I didn’t know. We drive by Luby’s on the way home. They are kind of a TX institution although I haven’t been in one since the 80s. But I remember it being widespread in TX when I got there.
 
sengsational said:
Creative destruction, right? The world had been changing and many of these weren't adjusting or didn't have a way to pivot. Sad for the people that thought they had secure employment, but good on the whole.
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My initial thought was the employees as well. My thoughts are with them. I hope they find a new job with a company that provides a product that allows the company to make a fair profit and to pay their employees a single job, living wage.
 
Hehe, since I never bought anything from anyone on the list, I shall not mourn.

RIP
 
Toocold said:
There are so many businesses where they keep raising debt in order to survive. It just takes one push and they fall off the cliff.
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That is sad. DW's late husband borrowed against their home to keep his business afloat. It did not help, and left DW with a hell of a mortgage to try to pay off on SS. When she finally sold her home she got less out of it than the realtor.
 
Sunset said:
I think this will become more common.

There was a local restaurant in Chicago, has a big patio. Even then the owner is shutting it down as said he couldn't break even at 50% capacity, so it was a money loser.
It had run for about 23 yrs.
He said the Fed $$$ handed out helped keep it going for a few months, but he's not going to spend all his savings and then have it close, better to close now.

Imagine all the restaurants without large patios, must be hurting even more.
Click to expand...

Souschef said:
That is sad. DW's late husband borrowed against their home to keep his business afloat. It did not help, and left DW with a hell of a mortgage to try to pay off on SS. When she finally sold her home she got less out of it than the realtor.
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I salute the owner who read the writing on the wall and closed earlier rather than ruin his personal life trying to save the business.... seems like a rare occurance... owners get desparate to save the business and often end up ruining their personal finances in the process.

DW as a regular shopper at JCP and we have rented cars from Hertz when they offered competitive pricing, which unfortunately wasn't very often..
 
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RobbieB said:
Hehe, since I never bought anything from anyone on the list, I shall not mourn.

RIP
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We’ll miss Sur la Table (cooking classes) and SteinMart. I wouldn’t have expected SteinMart or Libbey to go bankrupt, at least not due to Covid.
 
Midpack said:
We’ll miss Sur la Table (cooking classes) and SteinMart. I wouldn’t have expected SteinMart or Libbey to go bankrupt, at least not due to Covid.
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DW just grabbed some great bargains yesterday at a local SteinMart. 30% off their already low prices. A bittersweet moment, since they'll soon be gone.
 
Midpack said:
Some I knew about, others I didn’t. Some surprising (to me), some not at all. And it’s not over I’m sure...

https://www.cbsnews.com/pictures/covid-bankruptcy-companies-filings-coronavirus-pandemic/

Just some of the 46:
  • Pier 1
  • Cirque du Soleil
  • JC Penney
  • SteinMart
  • Pizza Hut (largest franchise)
  • J Crew
  • 24 Hour Fitness
  • Remington Arms
  • Sur la Table
  • Neiman Marcus
  • Aldo (shoes)
  • California Pizza Kitchen
  • Ann Taylor
  • Lane Bryant
  • Lucky Brand (jeans)
  • Brooks Brothers
  • Aeromexico
  • Chuck E Cheese
  • Hertz
  • Gold’s Gym
  • Dean & Deluca
  • GNC
  • Lord & Taylor
  • Papyrus
  • Libbey (glassware)
  • Men’s Warehouse
  • Bar Louie
Click to expand...

Add Tommy Bartlett Water Show to the list, closed their doors. (EDIT To add, I dont know if they filed bankruptcy as OP heading is though) That and Cirque hurts the most. It felt strange wearing dress clothes to a wedding the other day. No need for suits, but I bet Nike sweats are popular now.
 
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