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posted by chromas on Tuesday October 16 2018, @07:59PM   Printer-friendly
from the and-isn't-it-ironic?-don't-you-think? dept.

Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:

Sears, the one-time titan of American retail, filed for bankruptcy ahead of a $134 million debt payment due Monday and announced that it will close 142 stores.

For years, Sears has contended with the threat that it would become the latest big-name retailer to fall to online competition and crushing debt. The icon once known for its pristine catalogs, and more recently known for decrepit showrooms and a controversial chief executive, saw its stock price plunge last week after reports that it had hired an advisory firm to prepare a bankruptcy filing ahead of the Oct. 15 payment.

Early Monday morning, Sears announced it had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy -- which would allow it to reorganize and possibly reemerge from bankruptcy with some part of the business intact -- and received commitments for $300 million in debtor-in-possession financing to carry through the bankruptcy period while it restructures its debt and reorganizes its business.

[...] Sears will close 142 unprofitable stores near the end of this year, with liquidation sales at those stores expected to begin soon. It was not immediately clear where those stores are located or how many jobs would be affected. Those store closings are in addition to 46 others that were expected by next month.

[...] It has also already sold off many of its brands, including Craftsman tools, and hasn't turned a profit since 2010. Many of its most valuable properties have been sold off, with the other half leased and offering little cost savings from rent restructurings since Sears already pays below market rents.

-- submitted from IRC


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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by Snotnose on Wednesday October 17 2018, @12:35AM

    by Snotnose (1623) on Wednesday October 17 2018, @12:35AM (#749721)

    ... Sears is a prime example of how hedge funds and private-equity companies take over retailers, encumber them with debt in order to pay themselves massive windfall profits, and then leave the retailer without adequate operating capital to compete.

    See also: Toys R Us. Good old Bain capitol, run by the R's favorite Mitt Romney, sucked all the value of that company into their own pocketbooks, then left the husk for stupid suckers to buy.

    How companies like Bain and Eddie's manage to not only survive, but thrive, is a giant mirror into why so many Americans are hurting while the 1%'ers are thriving.

    --
    Why shouldn't we judge a book by it's cover? It's got the author, title, and a summary of what the book's about.
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