On Tuesday, regional retailer Paper Store filed for Chapter 11. The operator of 86 stationary and card stores in the Northeast said it’s looking for a buyer.
Fellow mismanaged mall dweller J.C. Penney said last month it will close another 13 stores as part of its recent bankruptcy filing. The company told the courts in May it would shutter a total of 250 stores by the end of summer 2021, leaving it with a shade under 600 locations. Such is the current life for McGrail and others in the retail bankruptcy and restructuring fields. In talking to a host of experts, one thing is abundantly clear: A thunderstorm of bankruptcies in retail are about to rain down on Wall Street thanks to the aftershock of the coronavirus.
And lastly, one of the benefits of a retailer filing for bankruptcy is to raise cash for creditors by holding store closing sales. That couldn’t happen with state mandated store closings.“I think many of these companies will file [for bankruptcy], and it’s not a handful. It’s several dozen. And that’s a scary number.
It has only just begunMost of the experts Yahoo Finance chatted up expect some degree of chaos to ensue as retailers reopen their stores this summer. It’s already unfolding by the looks of things.