Even after bankruptcy filings and massive store closures, some well-known retail brands seem as if they’ll never go away.
They can reemerge after a Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation under new owners with fresh capital and revised business plans. In many cases, that means following the Bed Bath & Beyond model, where the business moves purely online.
Related: Beloved pizza chain closing one third of its restaurants
In other cases, a brand name simply has so much cache that investors won’t let it die. That’s why Toys ‘R’ Us won’t go away. It has launched store-within-a-store locations inside Macy’s and has been trying various other brick-and-mortar ideas since the chain’s original closure.
And sometimes a brand becomes a sort of zombie. It won’t die, but what continues looks nothing like what the chain was before it died.
💸💰 Don’t miss the move: Subscribe to TheStreet’s free daily newsletter 💰💸
That’s the case with the Sharper Image brand. The one-time brick-and-mortar chain, which was famous for its cutting-edge inventory of air purifiers, massage chairs and more simply won’t go away.
It has not reopened, but the brand has slapped on a variety of novelty items (mostly toys aimed for a business person’s desk) that don’t reflect the original brand at all.
Familiar names, it seems, have strong value even when the chains they fronted have met horrible deaths.
Most Big Lots locations are closing down.
Image source: Shutterstock
Big Lots is winding down but won’t die
Big Lots has been dying a slow death since it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early September 2024. At the time, the company reported debts between $1 billion and $10 billion and said that many of its stores would close.
Before the bankruptcy filing, the chain had been working to create more operating space by selling off some of its real estate and leasing it back. It also took a $200 million loan secured against its headquarters building.
Those moves merely delayed the inevitable. And while the chain has made a deal that will keep the brand alive and some stores open, its current management has been winding down its operations.
More bankruptcy:
- Popular breakfast dining chain files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Huge national car wash chain files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Troubled trucking company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
The company recently disclosed some information to its vendors about what is happening while a sale of some locations is taking place.
“[The] company is continuing to conduct going out of business sales and is no longer purchasing goods, except for those deemed essential to support the wind down of the business,” the company website says.
“We are reaching out to providers of those essential goods and services directly, and are otherwise discontinuing any orders for goods and services.”
Some Big Lots locations will survive
At the time of its Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing, Big Lots operated around 900 locations. It has a deal in place with another operator to keep 200 to 400 of its stores in operation under the Big Lots brand name.
A recent sale agreement with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners will enable Variety Wholesalers to acquire 200 to 400 Big Lots stores, which it plans to operate under the Big Lots brand, and as many as two distribution centers, Big Lots said.
That work in progress requires some approvals from the bankruptcy court.
“Variety Wholesalers is working to finalize and implement transition plans, including as they relate to the company’s vendor relationships,” it added.
The chain also said it was continuing to pay any bills related to its going-out-of-business sales, and it outlined how it will be handling any items already shipped from vendors.
Related: Famous gunmaker files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
“With respect to goods in transit, Big Lots intends to return goods to vendors where title has not yet been transferred to Big Lots,” it said. “With respect to those goods where title has transferred to Big Lots, including goods currently on a common carrier, the company intends to keep those goods.”
Variety Wholesalers is the Henderson, N.C., operator of retail stores in the U.S. Southeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. it has committed to keeping 200 Big Lots locations open in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana and Mississippi. It has an option to rescue another 200 locations.