Two More Retail Bankruptcies, Goody's And Gottschalks

Two More Retail Bankruptcies, Goody's And Gottschalks

Gottschalks, a regional department store chain with 61 stores (most of them in California) has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, but will continue to operate as usual. Goody's a clothing retailer that emerged from bankruptcy in October, however, has failed and will be liquidated.

Jan 14 (Reuters) - U.S. retailers Goody's and Gottschalks
(GOTT.PK) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week,
joining a growing list of store chains hit hard by a year-long
recession. [ID:nN14451342]

Restructuring experts see a wave of retail bankruptcies in
the coming months due to dismal sales and a credit crunch. Some
expect the largest U.S. chains will weather the storm better
than their local and regional rivals.

Here is a list of some U.S. retailers who have filed for
bankruptcy protection in recent months:

GOTTSCHALKS INC

The regional department store chain filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection on Jan. 14. Based in Fresno, California,
the company said it had negotiated $125 million in
debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing from a group of lenders
led by GE Capital, a unit of General Electric Co (GE.N).

Gottschalks was founded in 1904 and operates 58 department
stores and three specialty apparel stores in the western United
States. It plans to pursue options that include the sale of the
company or another transaction.

GOODY'S LLC

Privately held family apparel retailer Goody's said in a
court filing on Jan. 13 that it again filed Chapter 11 and that
it plans to liquidate its remaining 282 stores.

The move comes less than three months after it emerged from
bankruptcy. The company said that a "significant downturn in
the national economy caused severe and unexpected financial
pressures." Goody's, based in Knoxville, Tennessee, was founded
in 1953 and operates in 20 U.S. states, mostly in the
Southeast.

CIRCUIT CITY STORES INC (CCTYQ.PK)

The No. 2 U.S. consumer electronics retailer filed for
bankruptcy on Nov. 10, becoming the largest retailer to file
for Chapter 11 since Kmart in 2002.

The 59-year-old retailer fell victim to tighter credit
terms from vendors, a dwindling cash position and decreased
consumer spending amid the deepening economic crisis.

On Jan. 9 the Richmond, Virginia-based company received
court approval to put itself up for sale and said it was in
talks with two parties that could either buy the chain or
provide additional financing. It did not name the parties.

Mexican retail and media entrepreneur Ricardo Salinas
Pliego has built up a stake of at least 28 percent in the
company. His spokesman said this week the tycoon was
considering a bid for Circuit City but would not say whether he
was one of the unidentified negotiating partners.

BOSCOV'S DEPARTMENT STORE LLC

Boscov's filed for Chapter 11 on Aug. 4. An investment
group led by Albert Boscov and Edwin Lakin bought the
family-owned chain in a $300 million deal that closed in
December.

The department store chain was founded in 1911 and had 39
locations on the U.S. East Coast.

Albert Boscov is the uncle of Boscov's Chief Executive Ken
Lakin and was previously chairman and chief executive of the
chain. Edwin Lakin is Ken Lakin's father.

MERVYN'S LLC

The department store chain filed for Chapter 11 on July 29
and in October said it would liquidate after the holiday season
after exhausting options that would allow it to stay open.

The privately held company operated 177 stores in the
Southwest at the time of its bankruptcy filing.

In 2004 Target Corp (TGT.N) sold Mervyn's to a private
investment company formed by affiliates of Sun Capital Partners
Inc, Cerberus Capital Management LP [CBS.UL] and Lubert-Andler
and Klaff Partners LP.

Cerberus sold out of the chain in 2007 but kept a 15
percent interest in its real estate holdings.

LINENS 'N THINGS [LNNHDL.UL]

Linens closed some of its 589 stores and filed for Chapter
11 on May 2. In October, the Clifton, New Jersey-based home
goods retailer began liquidating its remaining stores after it
failed to find a buyer.

The second-largest home goods retailer in North America,
bought by Leon Black's buyout firm Apollo Management in 2006,
is among the largest companies taken private in the recent
buyout boom to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

KB TOYS INC

One of the largest U.S. toy retailers, KB filed Chapter 11
on Dec. 11, with a plan to close all of its stores and begin
liquidation in the middle of the holiday season.

The filing was the second in four years for the privately
held toy retailer, which started as a family-owned business in
1922 and ran about 460 stores when it made its most recent
filing.

The Pittsfield, Massachusetts-based company said it plans
to close all its stores across the United States, Guam and
Puerto Rico by early February.