What big name company is likely to Bankrupt Next?

S

SuperJedi

CAGiversary!
Circuit City's Out of Business really really shocked me! Not going to say I am a fan of their customer service, but we lost a company that HAD Many great deals in the past, that can't be Denied!


Now, I see that stores like Office Depot, OfficeMax are still in business, kinda shock me more. I don't think their prices is better, or deal is better than what Circuit City had. I haven't stepped into a door of OfficeMax, Office Depot in like a year.

Similarily, I haven't purchased anything at Staples in about a year!

I am very surprised they are still in Business and CC is gone first!

I CAN'T see how these stores prices are better than CC!

So, the question is, are their days Numbered too?

What other companies you think that will Bankrupt soon, too?

WHAT is it about that make a company Bankrupt? Is it about prices? Or, is it really more about customer service?
 
[quote name='mike.m']Um its about how a company is run...[/quote]

YEAH I KNOW that!

But that's the Broad way looking at it. ANY person can say that, dude!

I am wondering about the Specifics, the details of why it's not a Success.

Like I said, I personally think CC had a lot of Great deals in the past, and prices weren't that bad either.

It's just Customer service part that is VERY horrible. Everytime I goes to CC and it's like I leave think every employee there are idiots.

Then, I look at Office Depot or Max, their deals NEVER really was good to me, though.

So, I don't even go there. And, they are still standing.

Are their CS much better?

Or What?
 
Does it totally blow your mind that Office Depot, Office Max, and Staples are still in business even if you haven't been there "in like a year"? It must, since you keep mentioning it. Other people go there. I don't eat at Red Lobster, yet they're still serving food after all my years of not going there.
 
[quote name='62t']Fye[/quote]


I agree that's a company that's likely to go soon too.

With Suncoast and Tower Records both Bankrupt already, I don't see how anybody still embraces a $18.99 CD you can get at Target/Best Buy for just $10, you know? Or a $30 movie, you can get for $15 at BB/Target... :roll:
 
When Mall traffic stops FYE is finished

With Best Buy getting into the mobile business : Radio Shack will become a shack

To make a recession official for the record books you need a major retailer to go under. Last Recession it was Montgomery Wards, this time it will be........Kmart, and in the process severely damaging Sears(since they're the same company)

Next up for drug stores will be Rite Aid. Walmart is killing every drug stores except Walgreens
 
Don't be surprised if best buy closes its doors in the next year or 2. They are in a similiar position to Circuit City was about 2 years back. If the horrible economic situation continues thru 2010, then best buy might not make it.
 
The problem is that it's not going to be obvious outside of those businesses that are obviously hurting for a multitude of reasons. With all three of your office store examples I would argue that what they lose in deals they at least make up in customer service, cleanliness, and stock. Of course, I also have to follow that up with that it may only hold true to my local locations, but the notion still remains.

That and they are the big game in town around here. Most of the local small businesses and otherwise get their supplies from them since they are right down the road. When it comes to picking something up for a little extra cost as opposed to waiting a few days on a mail-order company or two, we tend to splurge.

Also, quite frankly, every other company that used to carry stationary (mostly supermarkets, local drug stores, and drug store chains) around here started cutting back significantly...if not outsourcing those departments to Staples. And since those sections are now vastly smaller they are either focused more towards school supplies or towards generic office needs. Worst of all, the prices are pretty much comparable.

So...it all depends. Around here almost all factors are fairly equal, but the convenience of the office supply store locations (as well as customer perks) tend to factor in quite well.


TL;DR Version:
Everything around here regarding office supply stores and their direct competition is pretty much equal price-wise. The fact that the supply stores have far better stock, help, and the occasional deal instead of no deals at all usually makes all the difference. Location doesn't hurt, either.
 
[quote name='SuperJedi']YEAH I KNOW that!

But that's the Broad way looking at it. ANY person can say that, dude!

I am wondering about the Specifics, the details of why it's not a Success.

Like I said, I personally think CC had a lot of Great deals in the past, and prices weren't that bad either.

It's just Customer service part that is VERY horrible. Everytime I goes to CC and it's like I leave think every employee there are idiots.

Then, I look at Office Depot or Max, their deals NEVER really was good to me, though.

So, I don't even go there. And, they are still standing.

Are their CS much better?

Or What?[/QUOTE]

Office supply stores get most of their business from companies that order tens of thousands every month. Those people are using company money and dont need to look for a bargain.

And staple got tons of great teals. Just a few weeks ago they got 1TB external HDD for $75 after coupon.
 
[quote name='ryanbph']Don't be surprised if best buy closes its doors in the next year or 2. They are in a similiar position to Circuit City was about 2 years back. If the horrible economic situation continues thru 2010, then best buy might not make it.[/quote]


I agree, I shop Best Buy Less and Less!

But I urge/recommend/suggest Best Buy to offer MORE awesome Exclusives, that's when I will shop there, if their Exclusives are BEST of the pack! :)

DON'T make Circuit City's Bankrupcy make them Arrogant. There are STILL alternatives, I say to Best Buy.

I am still waiting to see if they going offer any Hot exclusive with Resident Evil 5 there, I hope they do. Or freaking $10-20 Gift card deal, you know?


I just went to get the MS Points cards + Watchmen ticket at BB yesterday, that's an Exclusive, and that's when I even go there now LOL :p

Their prices on the rest, is pretty Meh.
 
Here is a most excellent article from Yahoo Finance about the top 15 companies that might not survive 2009:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/15-Companies-That-Might-Not-usnews-14279875.html

I would suggest reading the article as it explains exactly why, including their debt issues, but here's the quicklist for those who just want a glance, I've highlighted the ones that we would actually notice:

Rite Aid
Claire's Stores
Chrysler
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group
Realogy Corp
Station Casinos
Loehmann's Capital Corp
Sbarro
Six Flags
Blockbuster
Krispy Kreme
Landry's Restaurants
Sirius Satellite Radio (stock is down 96%!!! I give them a 1% chance of survival)
Trump Entertainment Resorts Holdings
BearingPoint

Note the lack of F.Y.E., Sears, and Staples/OfficeMax/Office Depot? After reading the article and knowing what happened with Circuit City, I'd say it's all about two things:

1. Is the company up to their ears in debt? If so:
2. Is someone willing to buy them out.

Circuit City, and probably most of those on the Yahoo list, would answer Yes and then No = extra revenue for the companies that make those huge GOING OUT OF BUSINESS banners.

Anyone here who wants to make some dough should start selling "I survived 2009" T-shirts now...
 
Also even if Staples and Office Max B&M looks empty, they are the 2 of the largest online retailer.
 
Yeah, I will have to chime in and say that the Staples, Office Max, ect stores will be ok because their target market isn't the average consumer, it's mostly a business to business operation. When you take a look at corporate spending, you'll notice that many businesses vastly overpay for services that you and I would never use. (My company overnights things to Florida from Cleveland every week @ $25 a pop). I also work in accounting and see what we spend for supplies (among other things) all the time and I wonder why we don't have thriftier purchasers considering how frugral the company is otherwise, but a business will just pay more to get what they need asap.
 
Toy R us, a few years ago they closed a bunch of stores near me and i think there are only 2 left here now.

Radio Shack to me is suprising they are still around, i havent been in there in years. Also i think Best Buy isn't going anywhere, i think they have enough resources to stick around to get through these tough times.
 
How was Circuit City going out of business a "shock" when the writing has been on the wall for over a year now?

I agree with Toys R Us, BlockBuster, and Krispy Kreme. BB & KK have had serious issues for the past year financially, so it should be no surprise they are on that list that Kerig posted.
 
I hope radio shack folds like an Asian stripper.

There's no way in hell Chrysler is going down. The government will bail them out no matter how badly they fuck themselves up.
 
Honestly, I would say FYE is one business that will be bankrupt soon. I have no idea how they are still afloat. There's one FYE around me and the FYE is possibly one of the most dead stores around. On a good day, they will have 1 customer in there every hour. It's just that bad. I have never seen more than one customer in the store at a time. But then again, I'm basing this off of one store. I don't even know of any other FYE stores in my area so I wouldn't be able to check them out.

And isn't Midway going bankrupt? I believe they had to come up with a couple million dollars within a very short time frame and that time frame is up, isn't it? I haven't heard anything about the Midway crisis in a while. Anyone know what's going on with it?

One company that I don't understand, though, is Blockbuster. How the hell is their stock so low? If you guys have ever walked into Blockbuster you've probably noticed their overpriced Blu Ray and DVD prices. New DVDs for $21.99 and sometimes $24.99. And guess what? People buy those things! Wal-Mart and Target seem to make money selling DVDs/Blu Rays for much cheaper prices than Blockbuster, but somehow Blockbuster can't seem to make money selling these DVDs at overpriced prices. Don't even get me started on Blu Rays being $29.99 each sometimes.

With all the rentals and everything, it's amazing that they might be going under. $4.99 for each rental and the DVDs cost them very little. I don't know the exact figure, but I have heard that one rental covers the entire cost of the DVD. It's not the same with game rentals because they pay $48 for each brand new game or something like that. $10 to rent a game for 5 days? After 25 days a game can potentially pay itself off and from then on it's pure profit. Lets not forget that they convert rentals into sales. A movie that's been rented 20 times and then sells for $14.99 used will make them $115 on that ONE movie. If it wasn't for Blockbuster Online and the billionaire backing them, Blockbuster would have been gone a while ago.
 
The problem with BBV is that they are heavily dependent on rentals. The majority of people are not paying $4.99 for rentals because they have monthly rental plans which run anywhere from $10-$20 or have switched over to Netflix. Furthermore, all those used DVDs and Games you see there cost money (the upside is that you the customer are paid in store credit so they are guaranteed to see that money somewhere down the line), they take up shelf space and don't sell particularly well . The profit margins might be really high but think of all the DVDs that are never sold .
 
[quote name='kill3r7']The problem with BBV is that they are heavily dependent on rentals. The majority of people are not paying $4.99 for rentals because they have monthly rental plans which run anywhere from $10-$20 or have switched over to Netflix. Furthermore, all those used DVDs and Games you see there cost money (the upside is that you the customer are paid in store credit so they are guaranteed to see that money somewhere down the line), they take up shelf space and don't sell particularly well . The profit margins might be really high but think of all the DVDs that are never sold .[/quote]

I can assure you that the majority of the people do not have rental plans. I've worked at 2 BBV stores already and I would have to say that only 30% of the customers have those rental plans. The rental plans for in store run anywhere from $20-$35 a month and most people go with the $24.99 a month plan. Even with $25 a month, that is a lot of money for BBV. Add in the $300 million (last reported value I remember reading) revenue from the online per year and it adds up to a lot of money.

Then again, this is just my experience from working at 2 different stores. And speaking of rentals, lets not even mention Friday and Saturday nights. Those nights are filled with rentals. If you see someone going into a Blockbuster store on a Friday or Saturday they most likely don't have any sort of monthly plan. Those nights are usually filled with people just renting and/or buying movies.
 
I think he meant people were simply not going to BBV anymore because of Netflix and rental plans, not that the majority of their customers have them. Besides, those must be money earning propositions for BBV or they wouldn't be pushing them so hard. Netflix, Redbox, VOD, etc. are all what are killing BBV. They offer the same content cheaper or more convenient, or both.
 
fancy department stores like macy's. with money getting tighter, people aren't going to be spending much on pricey clothing. people buying ralph lauren socks are now buying hanes or fruit of the loom labels or they go to discount stores like marshals. comparing macy's and marshals, i believe marshals should be doing more business then macy's.

best buy won't go the route of circuit city as they are now the only retailers that are offerring electronic consumers goods.

office max and office depot may end up closing because of other office supply stores like staples or quails. but then staples is also in trouble because they are faced with rent as they own a lot of chains around the cities. additionally, offices are conserving on what they use to save money.

radio shack? for some reason they'll be around. i don't know how they manage but they'll be around.

fye near where i live is closed. they never really have much sales.

all three of the american car industry needs to die. it'll be a good thing but also a bad thing. all the debts that the companies own will die with it if it dies but the people lose their jobs. however, a new car company would more likely rise and will be structured differently.
 
[quote name='pochaccoheaven']fancy department stores like macy's. with money getting tighter, people aren't going to be spending much on pricey clothing. people buying ralph lauren socks are now buying hanes or fruit of the loom labels or they go to discount stores like marshals. comparing macy's and marshals, i believe marshals should be doing more business then macy's.

best buy won't go the route of circuit city as they are now the only retailers that are offerring electronic consumers goods.

office max and office depot may end up closing because of other office supply stores like staples or quails. but then staples is also in trouble because they are faced with rent as they own a lot of chains around the cities. additionally, offices are conserving on what they use to save money.

radio shack? for some reason they'll be around. i don't know how they manage but they'll be around.

fye near where i live is closed. they never really have much sales.

all three of the american car industry needs to die. it'll be a good thing but also a bad thing. all the debts that the companies own will die with it if it dies but the people lose their jobs. however, a new car company would more likely rise and will be structured differently.[/quote]

:rofl:
 
[quote name='pochaccoheaven']radio shack? for some reason they'll be around. i don't know how they manage but they'll be around.[/quote]

They're a funny little niche in consumer America. Very small store = low rent. A few weeks ago I needed a new power plug for my laptop (just the generic laptop 3-prong outlet half, not the AC Adapter half). The first place I thought of was Radio Shack. They had it, of course.

a new car company would more likely rise and will be structured differently.
Click to expand...
CAG: Chinamerica Automotive Group, structured like a Communistic Wal-mart.
 
Looks like Blockbuster might go under as well.

[quote name='MaskedPlague']Dunder Mifflin[/QUOTE]

They should reflect the harsh economic times in future episodes.

It would make for an interesting episode if the Scranton branch is forced to close down, so Dwight sells his beet farm to save the branch.
 
[quote name='ananag112']It would make for an interesting episode if the Scranton branch is forced to close down, so Dwight sells his beet farm to save the branch.[/quote]

They sort of did this in season 2 or 3 when they merged the other branch with them for about a week before everyone left.

Sell the beet farm? What would become of poor Mose? Would he live in the cafeteria?

mose-schrute-1.jpg
 
Of course there is a lot more going on than what we can see, but I agree with the others who don't get BBV's troubles. I have been in to multiple stores many times when they are as busy as can be - with most people forking over cash ($20 or more, often) for multiple rentals. It was to the point where I'd have to avoid going in to trade games Friday or Saturday evening because they'd be too packed.

But, as others have pointed out, it's all about the debt and how the company has been run. I don't see BBV going away any time soon, but towards the end of the year things could change (if that is the same article I read the other day it says their credit runs out in August - so probably nothing will happen before then).

But, I have to question the conventional wisdom that Netflix and Gamefly are the primary reasons for the downfall of BBV. The stores seem busy enough to me - if they aren't making it with that foot traffic then they have other problems.
 
Six Flags closing down would be sad, same with Sirius (although they fucked that up by buying XM; XM was fine by itself).

I don't want to see all the theme parks go the fate of Astroworld :(

Also people saying Radio Shack will close are stupid. Those stores are massively popular because they sell the small parts people need. Just because you don't use it doesn't mean everyone doesn't.
 
So now that Circuit City is out of business, which major retail store do you think will be the next to go out of business?

My money is on RadioShack. I am shocked they are still in business when all they sell is overpriced cables and shitty products you can buy anywhere else at a cheaper price.

My second choice is Barnes and Nobles / Borders. I think Amazon.com will kill these 2 companies and other smaller companies that sell books, electronics, games, movies and CDs. I partially blamed them for the demise of Circuit City.

So, what do you all think?
 
I work at a radioshack Franchise and they have over the years stored plenty of reserves their stock has taken a hit over the years but the company and its branding is pretty flawless.

My guess would be Kmart....
 
[quote name='Kerig']Here is a most excellent article from Yahoo Finance about the top 15 companies that might not survive 2009:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/15-Companies-That-Might-Not-usnews-14279875.html

I would suggest reading the article as it explains exactly why, including their debt issues, but here's the quicklist for those who just want a glance, I've highlighted the ones that we would actually notice:

Rite Aid
Claire's Stores
Chrysler
Dollar Thrifty Automotive Group
Realogy Corp
Station Casinos
Loehmann's Capital Corp
Sbarro
Six Flags
Blockbuster
Krispy Kreme
Landry's Restaurants
Sirius Satellite Radio (stock is down 96%!!! I give them a 1% chance of survival)
Trump Entertainment Resorts Holdings
BearingPoint

Note the lack of F.Y.E., Sears, and Staples/OfficeMax/Office Depot? After reading the article and knowing what happened with Circuit City, I'd say it's all about two things:

1. Is the company up to their ears in debt? If so:
2. Is someone willing to buy them out.

Circuit City, and probably most of those on the Yahoo list, would answer Yes and then No = extra revenue for the companies that make those huge GOING OUT OF BUSINESS banners.

Anyone here who wants to make some dough should start selling "I survived 2009" T-shirts now...[/quote]



Blockbuster?

I think Hollywood Video will go first, before Blockbuster.


I be really shocked if Blockbuster goes first, before Hollywood Video.


[quote name='mtxbass1']How was Circuit City going out of business a "shock" when the writing has been on the wall for over a year now?

[/quote]

Well, as I said, despite their stupid CS, their deals was Absolutely GREAT!


TBH, many many deals at CC were way BETTER than deals at Best Buy!


Unfortunately, great deals Doesn't save a company if it sucks at CS!
 
Wow, imagine if radio shack went out.... Alot of my good friends have been customers to them for years and years. They've been in business for decades now, back when they were under the "realistic, Tandy" name before they became radioshack sometime in the 70's. Any other radio freaks will probably know what I'm talking about.

What ever happened to Sam goodies? Strawberries? Did they merge with Fye? As for Office Max and Staples, they're not very mainstream around my neck of the woods. There's 1 of each (right next door to each other in fact) over here. Every time I've been inside one there's not many people in the store shopping. (used to go in there for old pc games before they got rid of them).

I can't really speak for staples or office max because I never go to them often, but as for radioshack and best buy, these are both precious stores for me. If they went out of business, I don't know where I'd be able to support my spending habits....both are pretty popular around here, same as wal-mart. Kmart, there was one to the east of me that shut down because of a fire. There is still one up in the next state that I've been to quite a bit and they seem okay. What about Kohl's? or Target?

It looks like Wal-mart is getting more popular then Kmart.

I can name quite a few retail stores that were sad to see die out.

1. CompUSA
2. Ames
3. Caldors
4. Bradlees
 
and what company will still be standing?? WALMART... bet you that walmart empire will last another 20 years before it folds.
 
Radio Shack will not be going under like so many think. There are radio shacks all over the U.S. in small towns in the middle of nowhere. Yea for most of their crap none of us would go there. However they cater to alot of smaller markets where there is no other place to get much of the stuff they sell.
 
[quote name='pochaccoheaven']
all three of the american car industry needs to die. it'll be a good thing but also a bad thing. all the debts that the companies own will die with it if it dies but the people lose their jobs. however, a new car company would more likely rise and will be structured differently.[/QUOTE]

How would it be a good thing for the auto industry's debts to be wiped out? They owe that money to other, mostly smaller companies that depend on the auto industry for their existence. If the car companies go down a hell of a lot of other companies (and all their shareholders) go down with them. There would be nothing good to come out of the auto industry going completely belly-up.
 
[quote name='Ye0ldmario']Wow, imagine if radio shack went out.... Alot of my good friends have been customers to them for years and years. They've been in business for decades now, back when they were under the "realistic, Tandy" name before they became radioshack sometime in the 70's. Any other radio freaks will probably know what I'm talking about.

What ever happened to Sam goodies? Strawberries? Did they merge with Fye? As for Office Max and Staples, they're not very mainstream around my neck of the woods. There's 1 of each (right next door to each other in fact) over here. Every time I've been inside one there's not many people in the store shopping. (used to go in there for old pc games before they got rid of them).

I can't really speak for staples or office max because I never go to them often, but as for radioshack and best buy, these are both precious stores for me. If they went out of business, I don't know where I'd be able to support my spending habits....both are pretty popular around here, same as wal-mart. Kmart, there was one to the east of me that shut down because of a fire. There is still one up in the next state that I've been to quite a bit and they seem okay. What about Kohl's? or Target?

It looks like Wal-mart is getting more popular then Kmart.

I can name quite a few retail stores that were sad to see die out.

1. CompUSA
2. Ames
3. Caldors
4. Bradlees[/quote]

Transworld Entertainment(parent company of FYE) bought Sam Goody a couple of years ago, I believe, as well as the remnants of Tower Records. From what I recall, they chose to liquidate both chains though, since I went to 2-3 Sam Goody stores during the liquidation sales.

As for that list of stores you were sad to see die out, I preferred Hill's to Ames, since Ames had a shitty selection of games compared to Hill's.

If anyone wants to see a list of how many chains(both regional and national) have gone under, check out this site: http://www.deadmalls.com/

It's a pretty interesting read, I think.
 
[quote name='IAmTheCheapestGamer']If anyone wants to see a list of how many chains(both regional and national) have gone under, check out this site: http://www.deadmalls.com/

It's a pretty interesting read, I think.[/quote]

Love that site, although some of their write-ups could use some massive overhauls. I believe I read a review of Century III Mall around Pittsburgh a long time ago, and even then it was written a few years prior. It was an accurate read but it just got so much worse it needs a follow-up and pictures to really establish how bad off it is/was.

I've never been to a mall so dark, dank, and depressing. It was ~awesome~, even though it was all about the atmosphere and not about shopping. ;)
 
[quote name='ITDEFX']1. and what company will still be standing?? WALMART...

2. bet you that walmart empire will last another 20 years before it folds.[/quote]

1. Along with amazon.com whose stock price is going up1! That's fucking crazy!

2. Wal-Mart will die whenever the world ends. Until then, It will be here forever.

And why is nobody talking about Barnes and Nobles / Borders? I think they merged because both companies are low on cash. Why are people still buying books in those stores when they are way cheaper on amazon. Cds and DVDs are $10 more expensive than Amazon and Blu Rays are $40, are you fucking kidding me?
 
Another factor to consider is a retail outlet's proximity to other chains that have failed. I have one shopping area that had a CompUSA, World Market, Circuit City and an Office Depot. First CompUSA then WM and CC closed up. How much hope is there to keep that Office Depot store open. There is nothing left around it. It is like foreclosed homes in your neighborhood bringing down the price of other homes in the area.

In any case, there is too much retail available for this market to bear and the companies must be in a strong finacial position in order to be the ones emerging stronger and with more market share when the economy turns around.
 
Borders and Barnes and Noble did not merge. B&N was looking into buying Borders Group last year but decided against it. Not that I necessarily agree with the reasoning, but I used to manage a Waldenbooks and I can tell you five reasons some people don't buy books online:

1) It's a much bigger pain in the ass to make a return to Amazon
2) There are a LOT of people out there who walk into a bookstore not knowing what they want. Amazon can help with the "I'm looking for something similar to this other book I liked" questions but can't with the "I saw some guy with glasses on the Today show talking about his new book and I think it had a green or blue or maybe yellow cover" questions.
3) Amazon doesn't offer discounts on mass-market paperbacks unless you buy in multiples of four, so in those cases it's not any cheaper to order online (and is actually more expensive when you weigh shipping against tax)
4) Instant gratification
5) People like to browse at bookstores. I personally rarely buy anything other than magazines in B&M bookstores but I still enjoy going to them and I certainly hope at least one of the two big chains sticks around, no matter how much I love Amazon.
 
Borders is overpriced on their dvd's, with blu ray getting better the sales are going down. Thats why you see thousands of them in bins for $3 a pop.
 
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