http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/10/inkstop_abruptly_closed_all_15.html
OHIO : INKSTOP APRUPTLY CLOSES ALL 152 RETAI L STORES.
InkStop abruptly closes all 152 retail stores and lays off all workers
WARRENSVILLE
HEIGHTS, Ohio — InkStop Inc., a specialty retailer of ink, toner,
consumer electronics and other supplies for small businesses and home
offices, abruptly told its employees that it was shuttering all 152
stores nationwide as of Friday and laying off all workers until further
notice.”The company has elected to temporarily close all stores at the
close of business today, Oct. 1, to focus on a restructuring plan in an
effort to improve the overall operations of the organization,” the
Warrensville Heights company told employees in a letter sent late
Thursday.”Paychecks will not be issued on Friday due to our cash
constraints. We are working on a plan to improve our cash flow
situation and reopen under better circumstances.”
The letter,
signed by the Inkstop board of directors, went on to say that medical
coverage and other insurance had been paid only through Aug. 31. “Your
patience during this difficult time is appreciated,” it said.
That
means not only will employees not be paid for the past two weeks, but
they will also be financially responsible for their medical benefits
since Sept. 1.”We all knew the hammer was going to come down. We just
didn’t think it would happen in one day,” Linda Mastellone, an
assistant store manager at InkStop in Newtown, Pa., said via e-mail.
“We all saw that the lack of ink [the main reason for the store’s
existence] was a big sign that the company clearly didn’t have the
capital to purchase product.”The company has been doing poorly since I
came aboard in August,” she said. “I frankly couldn’t see how they were
still in business. We didn’t have much ink/toner, and we couldn’t order
stock that we usually kept on the shelves.”According to its profile
page on LinkedIn.com, InkStop operates 152 stores in 14 states,
including 14 stores in Northeast Ohio. “We are on track to have over
200 stores opened by the end of 2010,” it said. The site also says
InkStop, founded in 2005, has 550 employees.
Phone calls to
several retail stores went into voicemail, as did calls to several
executives and to the company’s headquarters at 4400 Renaissance
Parkway in Warrensville Heights.Next-door tenant Michael Feuer, chief
executive and co-founder of Max-Wellness LLC and MaxVentures LLC, said
InkStop’s lights were off and the offices appeared unoccupied.