by Nicholas Hamner, Esq.
Investment Advisor Representative & Director of Marketing
[email protected]
When you watch a fancy award show on TV like the Oscars or Emmys, there is usually one or two questionable things happening during the show. Some of the jokes might be a little off-color, some of the winners may be controversial, and Letterman may hang on to the “Oprah-Uma” bit a little too long. But one thing that will always happen, without fail, is the “In Memoriam” slideshow where they’ll review notable people from the industry that passed away over the previous 12 months.
Occasionally, we’ll do the same in our newsletter, only with businesses. Why? Well, some of these businesses are publicly traded and relevant to the markets. Also, we’re all shoppers and it’s interesting to keep tabs on who is going to be around next year and who might have good sales right now.
So who did we lose in 2024?
- Big Lots – While anyone who recently visited a Big Lots location might have assumed they were already out of business months ago, the retailer announced last week that it would be closing all stores and holding going out of business properly.
- Party City – The party supply shop emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy in August of this year with a new CEO, but less than four months later it announced that it was ceasing operations and closing all locations by February 2025.
- True Value – Having historically operated as a member-owned cooperative until its purchase in 2018 by ACON, the home improvement goods supplier announced in October that it was filing for bankruptcy and selling its assets to rival Do It Best. Thankfully, at least for us around here, it does not appear that any of the 4,500 independently operated True Value neighborhood hardware stores scattered in communities across the country are affected.
Plenty of other companies filed for bankruptcy this year and have stayed around, however. Who did we almost lose in 2024?
- LL Flooring – The flooring shop once operated 400+ stores nationwide, but after filing for bankruptcy in August, they closed nearly 100. The remaining stores and corporate assets were acquired privately, in a last-minute agreement, by a group led by the company’s founder in September. The remaining stores have since reverted to the Lumber Liquidators name.
- Express – The clothing store struggled repeatedly over the years to find a proper product mix, and moved from owner to owner while changing names (remember Structure stores or Limited?). In April of this year, the company finally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and closed 15%-20% of its stores. An acquisition in June staved the brand off from liquidation.
- JOANN – One of those that still gets called its old name (FedEx Office will forever be Kinkos, JOANN will forever be JoAnn Fabrics), the craft retailer filed for Chapter 11 in March, was delisted from the NASDAQ in April, and reemerged from bankruptcy protection in late April without closing a store.
- Red Lobster – A bad deal with a minority stockholder, a worse deal with consumers in an endless shrimp promotion, and a terrible sale-leaseback real estate deal all combined to hammer this seafood chain, who filed for bankruptcy in May. While under bankruptcy protection, the company closed 100+ locations and sold itself off, before emerging from bankruptcy in September.
- The Container Store – In what looks to be another case of bad real estate deals, the home organization retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. While they hope to reorganize without any impact to customers or staff, there is a chance stores could close.
All totaled, we didn’t lose too much this year. If you like buying your sofa, a factory second collapsible gazebo, and questionable snack cakes (who is “Diminutive Deborah”?) in one spot, you may miss Big Lots. But we didn’t lose anyone selling essentials and that’s always good.
What will 2025 hold for the world of retail? That’s anyone’s guess. What will 2025 hold for you? Hopefully nothing but good things.
Wishing everyone a happy & healthy 2025!