AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT MODELL'S SPORTING GOODS

New York, New York-based Modell's Sporting Goods, a sporting goods retailer with locations in the Northeastern United States. with 153 locations, has abandoned all efforts to attempt to save the company and the jobs of hundreds of employees. The company has hired Tiger Capital Group to liquidate the sporting goods and apparel inventory throughout its stores in favor of its creditors.

According to a company spokesperson, "Over the past year, we evaluated several options to restructure our business to allow us to maintain our current operations," Modell said in a statement on Wednesday. "While we achieved some success, in partnership with our landlords and vendors, it was not enough to avoid a bankruptcy filing amid an extremely challenging environment for retailers.”\

Modell’s CEO Mitchell Modell, noted, “This is certainly not the outcome I wanted, and it is one of the most difficult days of my life. But I believe liquidation provides the greatest recovery for our creditors. The company's lenders will provide the company with near-term financing, including the payments of employee wages and benefits, provisioning of customer orders and shipments, and other obligations. I want to thank each and every one of our associates for their support over the years and our customers for their historic support of Modell’s.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

AM I NEXT? NO LOVE AT NEIMAN MARCUS (06/04/22)

JUNE 4, 2022 — 53 LAYOFFS IN NATICK, MASSACHUSETTS

The company is closing its two-story store at the Natick Mall in Natick, Massachusetts, and laying off 53 employees between July 23, 2022, and September 14, 2022. The property will be redeveloped into laboratory and office space.

MAY 7, 2020 — CHAPTER 11 BANKRUPTCY FILED

According to a company spokesperson, “Prior to COVID-19, Neiman Marcus Group was making solid progress on our journey to long-term profitable and sustainable growth/ However, like most businesses today, we are facing unprecedented disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has placed inexorable pressure on our business.”

APRIL 20, 2020 — MOVING CLOSER TO BANKRUPTCY. FILING IMMINENT.

After furloughing 14,000 employees and shutting 43 stores as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the company is finalizing interim financing before declaring bankruptcy.

MARCH 25, 2020 — NEIMAN MARCUS EXECUTIVES CONFRONTED WITH QUESTIONS ABOUT BANKRUPTCY

It appears that Bloomberg News is suggesting that bankruptcy may be imminent.

According to a company spokesperson. “Most businesses today are facing some degree of disruption from the unprecedented global economic environment resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. We are evaluating all courses of action to preserve our financial strength so that we may continue serving our customers and associates and being a great partner to luxury brands globally. Our priority has been and will always be to ensure stability for our associates and brand partners.”

MARCH 24, 2020 — Original post…

Dallas, Texas-based Neiman Marcus, the iconic luxury retailer, and mail-order merchant, has announced a major restructuring that will see major store closures, divestments, and a reduction in force. The company’s Last Call discount outlets will be closed with the exception of a few that will be used for clearance merchandise. The company will divest two Texas distribution centers in Longview and Irving, Texas, and deploy the capital to grow the company’s businesses. But most troubling with be the company’s combination retail, mail-order, and online businesses which will impact approximately 750 employees as the staff is combined and redundancies are eliminated. An estimated 500 layoffs will come from the closed stores and an estimated 250 layoffs will involve management and non-selling support staff.

According to CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck, “The retailer’s actions aren’t a reaction to outside forces, but have been in the works for some time and are part of the company’s transformation efforts. This is all very deliberate and pre-coronavirus. We are focusing our resources on where the profits are: in full-price selling.”

While the company restructured some of its almost $5 billion in debt in 2019, with the largest portion due in 2023, at least some of the $137.3 million of existing bonds come due in October 2020, with the remainder due in 2021.

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?

LAYOFFS: NO LOVE AT L.L. BEAN

Freeport, Maine-based L.L. Bean, the iconic retailer of outdoor sporting goods and apparel, has announced that it is proceeding with its reorganization plans and reducing its workforce by 200 full and part-time positions company-wide. The company has also announced the closure of it’s Lewiston, Maine call center when its lease expires in 2021.   

According to a company spokesperson, “We are going through the process of reorganizing certain areas of the company, and unfortunately that includes an employee count reduction. As an organization in an ever-changing retail industry, we must continually adapt and invest so we can meet the needs of our evolving customers and position L.L. Bean for long-term growth. Part of that requires us to become a more nimble, streamlined organization, which is why we made the difficult decision to eliminate approximately 200 jobs across all levels of the company.”

Change is coming. There will always be a tomorrow, no matter how much you may try to ignore it. There are no guarantees in life or promises for a bright future. Just because something bad hasn't happened yet, doesn't mean it won't. It can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. No one is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow and still have a job by evening. Are you now wondering, Am I Next?