WHO WILL GET CIRCUIT CITY's SURPLUS TONER AND INKS ?

[Anonymous]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090116/ap_on_bi_ge/circuit_city_bankruptcy
Circuit City to liquidate remaining US stores
Bankrupt
Circuit City Stores Inc., the nation’s second-biggest consumer
electronics retailer, said Friday it failed to find a buyer and will
liquidate its 567 U.S. stores. The closures could send another 30,000
people into the ranks of the unemployed.”This is the only possible path
for our company,” James A. Marcum, acting chief executive, said in a
statement. “We are extremely disappointed by this outcome.”The company
had been seeking a buyer or a deal to refinance its debt, but the
hobbled credit market and consumer worries proved insurmountable.The
liquidation of Circuit City is the latest fallout from the worst
holiday shopping season in four decases. People have slashed their
spending since the financial meltdown in September as they worry about
their job security and declining retirement funds.Other recent
casualties include KB Toys, which filed for bankruptcy in December and
is liquidating stores. Department store chains Goody’s Family Clothing
and Gottschalks Inc. both filed for bankruptcy this week — Goody’s
plans to liquidate, while Gottschalks hopes to reorganize.Industry
experts expect more bad news in the coming months as spending likely
will deteriorate further.

Circuit City said in court papers it
has appointed Great American Group LLC, Hudson Capital Partners LLC, SB
Capital Group LLC and Tiger Capital Group LLC as
liquidators.”Regrettably for the more than 30,000 employees of Circuit
City and our loyal customers, we were unable to reach an agreement with
our creditors and lenders,” Marcum said.Shareholders are likely to
receive nothing, as is typical in bankruptcy cases. It was unclear what
would happen to the company’s 765 retail stores and dealer outlets in
Canada.”Very, very sad,” said Alan L. Wurtzel, the son of company
founder Samuel S. Wurtzel, and the chief executive from 1972 to 1986,
board chairman from 1986 to 1994 and vice chairman until 2001. “I feel
particularly badly for the people are employed or until recently were
employed.”

Wurtzel has previously said Circuit City didn’t take
the threat of rival Best Buy Co. seriously enough and, at some points,
were too focused on making a profit in the short term instead of
building long-term value.Circuit City filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
protection in November as vendors started to restrict the flow of
merchandise ahead of the busy holiday shopping season.It had been
exploring strategic alternatives since May, when it opened its books to
Blockbuster Inc. The Dallas-based movie-rental chain made a takeover
bid of more than $1 billion with plans to create a 9,300-store chain to
sell electronic gadgets and rent movies and games. Blockbuster withdrew
the bid in July because of market conditions.

Circuit City,
which said it had $3.4 billion in assets and $2.32 billion in
liabilities as of Aug. 31, said in its initial filings that it planned
to emerge from court protection in the first half of this year.Under
court protection, Circuit City has broken 150 leases at locations where
it no longer operates stores. The company already closed 155 stores in
the U.S. in November and December.U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin
Huennekens had given the company permission to liquidate if a buyout
was not achieved. The company still needs final approval of a
liquidation from the court.

The liquidation is the latest big
blow to the nation’s malls, which have suffered from a rise in
vacancies as a slew of chains from Mervyns LLC to Linens ‘N Things have
liquidated. But analysts say that the demise of Circuit City, whose
stores range in size from 20,000 to 25,000 square feet, will hurt the
fortunes of mall operators even more.”It will bring to market a glut of
big box spaces across the country,” said John Bemis, head of Jones Lang
LaSalle Inc.’s retail leasing team. “It will have one of the largest
impacts on big box real estate across the country.”

[Author]

January 19, 2009 at 11:24 AM