NO LOVE AT BON-TON STORES (UPDATED)

The massacre of retailing in malls and shopping centers continues with the closing of Bon-Ton Store’s Carson’s and Bergner department stores in Illinois and the lay off of 330 employees. Bon-Ton has filed for voluntary Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

In a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, “The Company’s stores, e-commerce and mobile platforms under the Bon-Ton, Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers nameplates are open and operating as usual. As previously announced, the Company is closing 47 stores in 2018, four of which closed in January and one store that is near completion and 42 additional at which store closing sales began on February 1, 2018, and will run for approximately 10 to 12 weeks.” 

UPDATE: MAY 17, 2018

It appears that Bon-Ton, which entered bankruptcy in February 2018  cannot find a buyer for its stores and is starting to shut down operations, laying off up to 1,800 area employees and liquidating inventory before shutting the doors.  This according to the State of Illinois Monthly WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Activity Listing for April 2018.  

UPDATE: MAY 18, 2018

It appears that the count employee layoffs is increasing and now appears to be over 2,000. employees.

Are you asking yourself, Am I Next?

NO LOVE AT APPVION (03/23/21)

MARCH 23, 2021— ROARING SPRING, PENNSYLVANIA PLANT CLOSURE WITH 293 LAYOFFS

The financially-challenged company has announced that it will be closing its Roaring Spring, Pennsylvania paper mill on April 1, 2021, with 293 layoffs, including 250 employees and 43 managers.

Spring Grove, Pennsylvania-based Pixelle Specialty Solutions LLC, a manufacturer of specialty papers, on Tuesday said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the company’s carbonless rolls and security papers business which will be produced at Pixelle’s specialty papers mill in Chillicothe, Ohio. No other assets were acquired.

The decision was driven by a pandemic-driven decline in business and the trend toward electronic forms and security products.

Part of the decision appears to be based on politics and the anticipated costs associated with upgrading the plant’s equipment to meet forthcoming climate change requirements. The company already upgraded its plant to meet emission standards set by the Obama Administration.

NOVEMBER 17, 2017 — Original post…

Appvion, a 100% employee-owned, Wisconsin-based, producer of specialty coated papers (thermal, carbonless, security, inkjet, digital specialty, and colored papers) has announced that it will be laying off approximately 200 employees as part of its Chapter-11 bankruptcy restructuring plan. The company has already outsourced its warehousing and distribution functions resulting in the loss of another 62 jobs.

According to management …

Our business is fundamentally sound; however, our debt load is too high. We have been proactively working on finding a capital structure solution to address our debt and remain in constructive discussions with our lenders on a comprehensive plan to significantly reduce our debt and enhance our cash flow.

While these discussions are active and ongoing, Appvion initiated Chapter 11 proceedings to facilitate a financial restructuring. This decision was made after careful consideration and after thoroughly exploring various alternatives.
We believe the steps we are taking will result in a sustainable capital structure that best positions our business for long-term growth and success. Our goal is to emerge as a stronger company – well-positioned to compete long-term and to further invest in innovation.

Since Appvion is 100% employee-owned, I wonder if any of those employees looked at the company’s financials and computed some of the standard ratios that might have produced early-warning red-flags; giving employees time to provide for their own fall-back positions?

NO LOVE AT SEARS OF CANADA

In what may be a precursor to the future of Sears here in the United States, Sears of Canada is seeking the approval of the Canadian bankruptcy court to close approximately 130 remaining stores and permanently laying off 12,000 employees.

Founded as Simpsons-Sears in 1952 as a partnership between Toronto’s Robert Simpson Company of Toronto and Sears Roebuck Co. of Chicago, the company appears to have failed to adapt to changing times and increased pressure from other more nimble retailers such as Amazon, Walmart, and BestBuy.

Like everything associated with the billionaire hedge fund operator and bully-boy Eddie Lampert and ESL Investments, it appears that the company may have been positioned and operated for the benefit of its major stockholder who would rather transfer real estate and dividends to his benefit rather than invest in long-term growth. This idea appears to be reinforced by Sears Canada’s Executive Chairman Brandon Stranzl, who previously worked as an investment analyst at ESL.

This appears to be a failure of leadership, leadership who raised hundreds of millions of dollars in potential capital investment by selling off its choice real estate holdings and leases to landlords – and then declaring hundreds of millions in special dividends to its shareholders. A move that benefited Lampert and ESL and mirrored Lampert’s actions in the United States.

Present day employees are not the only ones impacted as it appears that the retailer might use another Wall Street trick, purchasing an annuity to satisfy the company’s pension obligations to approximately 18,000 retirees and beneficiaries.

With retail cratering, especially against the onrushing onslaught of Amazon, Walmart, and Costco, it is important for employees to keep their eyes wide open to fast-developing conditions on the ground.