store-closings
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Blockbuster closures in UK hit 160 stores
Deloitte, the group handling the administration of Blockbuster UK, will close 160 of the retailer's 500 stores. Blockbuster UK went into administration Wednesday, appointing Deloitte to the task of handling the bankruptcy proceedings and finding a buyer for the company.Lee Manning, an administrator with the group, told GamesIndustry International, "Having reviewed the portfolio with management, the store closure plan is an inevitable consequence of having to restructure the Company to a profitable core which is capable of being sold." Deloitte noted that more store closings may hit in the coming weeks.
GameCrazy internal document confirms liquidation of remaining stores
click to enlarge Movie Gallery Inc., owner of the GameCrazy, Hollywood Video, and Movie Gallery franchises, is officially closing its remaining 2,415 outlets across the US. An internal memorandum obtained by Joystiq confirms reports that the company will be closing its doors and liquidating its remaining stock over the coming weeks. "A decision has been reached by the board of directors to liquidate the entire assets of the organization," the document reads. The piece also notes that the store closing sale will "likely continue for up to 60 days" and that employees who stick it out to the end will receive "store associate incentive plans" as a reward. Additionally, it assures said employees that "The company expects to continue to pay associates and provide current benefits and insurance programs during your active employment until you are released from the store or the store closing sale ends." It would appear that discount levels and liquidation plans have yet to be finalized at the company. "We are also in the process of evaluating liquidation vendors who will oversee the store closure and sale process in conjunction with our company ... the consultants will advise us on appropriate discount levels, advertising, in-store signing and in-store merchandising in order to facilitate a smooth process." And though it's not explicitly spelled out, the piece states that "most" normal operating procedures and company policies will persist through the closings. We wish the best of luck to the approximately 19,000 employees affected by the closure.
Rumor: GameCrazy closing all remaining stores
[Effluent Suburbia] After a handful of reports from several current GameCrazy employees and about a dozen calls to GameCrazy outlets across the country, we believe that the retailer will in fact be shuttering its remaining 250 or so locations in the coming weeks. Speaking with one such GC employee in central Pennsylvania, we were told, "Movie Gallery as a whole [GameCrazy's parent company] yesterday filed for Chapter 7, which indicates that the whole company is going through liquidation. I was in on the conference call yesterday ... it looks like this week and the week after they're going to go through finding a liquidation company to buy [the remaining products]. It's going to be business as usual for the next two weeks, we'll see our releases for the next two weeks, but we'll likely be closed by the end of June." The alleged bankruptcy filing has yet to appear on Movie Gallery's stock page or in the SEC database. We've attempted to gain official word from corporate, but the company refuses to acknowledge whether the chain is closing. Whether there was any internal documentation, one employee told us, "Unfortunately, there aren't any new memos on the intranet related to it... the last one was on 4-21 ("Important Closing Store Update"), and then there were a few on 4-20 ("Select In-Store Programs Cease" and "Letter from Roger Dunlap - Closing Store Announcement") and one on 4-19 ("Special Order Games Department Closing") The newest stuff was on the conference call yesterday, which I wasn't apart of." That said, our past experience with GameCrazy has shown that when several employees tell identical stories about store closures across multiple states, they're not likely colluding on an elaborate ruse. Additionally, we were told by an employee that "after the 18th [of May], we're done with pre-orders." He also encouraged customers with pre-orders to come in and pick up any deposits they've placed on games being released any time beyond the immediate future. If you're a current GameCrazy employee with information you'd like to share, we'd love to hear from you. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Office Depot closing 112 stores
Office Depot's jumped on the "get outta town quick" train and announced it'll close 112 of its "underperforming" stores over the course of the next three months. The closures will amount to roughly nine percent of the OD's locations, and the company will also close six out of its 33 North American distribution facilities. All of this falls under the banner of cutting back costs, of course, in response the economy's woes and "no profits." [Via TG Daily]
Circuit City announces store closure plans, full list of locations revealed
Yesterday news broke that Circuit City would announce the imminent closure of 155 retail locations, and this morning the company confirmed the news. Detailing its next plan of action in a lengthy press release, the electronics-maker blames "waning consumer confidence and a significantly weakened retail environment" (amongst other things) for the closings, and says that it's considering "all available options and alternatives for the business." In the short-term, this means that we'll see store closings in 55 markets from coast to coast, and the retailer will axe 17 percent of its workforce. The company also plans to begin store closing sales this Wednesday, November 5th, so they're clearly not wasting any time with the process. We've got more info in the read links below, as well as a full list of the closing stores -- if you're an employee, we hope your number isn't on there.[Thanks, Milachy]Read - PDF List of store closings Read - Circuit City to Retrench [Warning: requires subscription]Read - Circuit City Stores, Inc. Provides Update on Liquidity and Announces Store Closing Plan
Circuit City to shutter 155 stores, locations to go public tomorrow
According to a slew of tips we've received, Circuit City will be closing down 155 of its retail locations, possibly even before Black Friday. Right now details are sketchy, but it seems that the company's traditional "holiday kickoff" meeting was actually a "holiday layoff" discussion instead. Apparently, a full list of store locations getting the axe will be revealed. In the words of a current employee:"I'm an employee @ Circuit City and today there was a mandatory store meeting for the holiday season and to welcome all the seasonal employees. There was also some tension as rumors were rampant the days before that we were all going to find out we were out of a job today. Luckily, but still somehow unfortunately, I'm still an employee of Circuit City. The same can't be said for the employees of the 155 stores that are closing, possibly even before black Friday. The list of stores that are shutting down will be made public tomorrow. The idea behind closing the stores before Black Friday is to transfer product from the failing stores to the stronger ones to save some money."This makes sense given the rumors we heard in October and the fact that the company's stock has been been essentially put on death watch by the NYSE -- but that surely won't soften the blow to everyone whose job will be affected by this. If you have more detail on the situation, feel free to drop us a line.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Sprint announces massive layoffs, store closings amid subscriber defection
New Sprint Nextel CEO Dan Hesse appears to have inherited a company bleeding subscribers by the thousands, and will now officially be dropping the ax on 4,000 employees and 125 retail locations. Amid the loss of 639,000 postpaid customers in the fourth quarter, Sprint will be cutting a total of 6.7% of its work force (following the 5,000 layoffs last year) and 8% of company-owned brick-and-mortar stores, while remaining mute on other rumors that it will consolidate its headquarters in Kansas. Sprint Nextel shares are down $2.89, or nearly 25%, at the time of this writing.[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
