Savings Experiment: Snow Removal
The Money Man Behind Rick Santorum: Who Is Foster S. Friess?According to Bloomberg News, this once-venerable company is headed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and a possible liquidation. The demise of Fortunoff comes a year after Lord & Taylor parent NRDC purchased the company out of bankruptcy. At the time, NRDC thought Fortunoff was the best thing since sliced bread. Lord & Taylor even made available a $10 million line of credit to the chain. But now, the chain's lease at its flagship store has expired and the store, located on Fifth Avenue near Bergdorf Goodman, Prada and Tiffany & Co. (NYSE:TIF) is vacant.
"Fortunoff is a valuable brand with great potential for continued growth," said Richard Baker, chairman of Lord & Taylor and chief executive officer of NRDC Equity Partners in a press release. "We plan on investing $100 million into the Fortunoff business, with investments being made in both existing and additional stores."
Isn't the optimism -- or hubris -- in that quote charming? Remember, at the time businesses thought real estate prices would keep rising, keeping confident consumers in a mood to spend $999 on a diamond heart pendent necklace. Now that's on sale for Valentine's Day on the Fortunoff Web site.
The demise of Fortunoff Fine Jewelry and Silverware LLC underscores the huge challenges facing retailers of all sorts. Consumers have welded their wallets shut and will only open them when discounts are so steep that stores are practically giving their merchandise away. Jewelry stores, in particular, are suffering because of the and many prominent local chains have been pushed into bankruptcy because they can not compete against the big box chains. They are not alone.
Macy's Inc. (NYSE:M) laid off 7,000 workers yesterday amidst disappointing sales. Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) has cut staff as has Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX). Countless jobs are at risk and scores of individual stores may shutter their doors before the economy turns.
Even Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (NYSE: WMT), whose stock has performed relatively well, is not immune to the tsunami that has hit the economy. Still, the world's largest retailer should maybe take a look at Fortunoff's flagship location on 57th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Update: Fortunoff declared bankruptcy on Thursday, Feb. 5.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
2-05-2009 @ 9:31AM
prete ryback said...
never heard of this store, must be another east coast thing, maybe all east coast stores should go under then we will not have hear about them
2-04-2009 @ 4:29PM
papapishu said...
Maybe the West Coast should fall off the country in an earth quake.
2-04-2009 @ 4:44PM
jazelade said...
I feel terrible about the demise of what was once a fabulous store. Fortunoff's was the in store to shop in. Their sales were fabulous and their merchandise was the best. I miss the old store and it hasn't been the same since Lord and Taylor took it over.
2-04-2009 @ 4:45PM
gserlin said...
I am a long-time Fortunoff customer. When the fortunoff family was running the stores, they did just fine, even with the rumored intrafamily infighting. I remember being in the flagship store in Westbury (NOT 5TH AVE.) when "old man" Fortunoff made an instant refund to a customer, by reaching into his pocket. Now that was service and they were famous for it and for their charity. Sorry to see them go.
2-04-2009 @ 5:02PM
Sneakers9 said...
Its a doggie doggie dog world out their alot can happend refunds should be like the old days now refunds retails dont want to give them out they have to make
a big deal out of it every1 is being stingy
right now cause of the economics the way it is and its going to get worse and worse
i cant believe every thing is closing up
2-04-2009 @ 5:06PM
mnms8868 said...
Amen papapishu!
2-04-2009 @ 5:23PM
Jim said...
Never heard of this store. But if no one spends money (except for house payment/rent and groceries) the recession will NEVER end. This is the true "trickle down" economy.
2-04-2009 @ 5:25PM
kshirsch2 said...
I am also a long time Fortunoff shopper. I got my first "real" piece of jewelry there as a young girl. I remember Mr Fortunoff walking the floor and talking to the customers. So sad.
2-04-2009 @ 5:43PM
T said...
nice gserlin.. I remember old fortunoff in westbury myself!
2-04-2009 @ 5:42PM
T said...
yeah, what's up with prete? obviously an angry kid with nothing else better to do..looking to see if his video store is going out of business, lol!
2-04-2009 @ 5:54PM
Ed Baggett said...
What used to be the USA middle class
will soon be known as a "nation of paupers".
2-04-2009 @ 6:56PM
TammyC said...
I used to LOVE Fortunoff: until the customer service got SO bad. I literally had to call the store as I was standing in the middle of an aisle to ask them to send someone over to help me, after an hour of waiting and hoping for help. I knew things were getting bad when all of the sudden they started sending coupons and incentives. When customer service fails, liquidation isn't far behind.
2-04-2009 @ 6:32PM
gabbiescorner6 said...
If all the middle class go under who is going to support all those favorite people of Pelozi's. We will be the poor people then, will she come to our rescue or do we have to be existing section 8 and illigal?
2-04-2009 @ 6:47PM
gin said...
How about some news of the businesses that are staying open and what they're doing to buck this economic crisis. Are reporters only after the doom and gloom news these days. I went to a restaurant for lunch today, and it was packed; same with dinner last week. Retail has been doomed since Amazon.com, Zappos, Overstock.com and others lured buyers away, plus EBay and Craig's List have given shoppers other options. Downsizing was happening before Wall Street started this domino effect; this speeded up the process. It's sad and frightening, but we are resilient. Let's hear more success stories, please!
2-04-2009 @ 6:56PM
wattsr2 said...
i'll keep the stores on the east coast....let the left coast go under!
2-04-2009 @ 7:10PM
wattsr2 said...
it is not a doggie....doggie world! It is dog eat! your comment is about as bad as people who say "nip it in the butt"....it is nip it in the bud. Or as bad as people who say "bald face lie"....it is "bold faced lie".....or "my bad"....no it is "my bag"....as in holding the bag after everyone has left you!
2-04-2009 @ 7:33PM
fourdogslaughing said...
never heard of this outfit !!
2-04-2009 @ 7:53PM
Tom Weber said...
Yup........that's the way of it. Here in Akron, Ohio as in every city in America, old stores close their doors one day. That's the way of it. get use to it.
Welcome Walmart
2-04-2009 @ 9:07PM
jim said...
WOW WE REALLY ARE GOING DOWN HILL. EVERY WHERE YOU TURN PEOPLE ARE GETTING LAID OFF, STORES ARE CLOSING, PEOPLE GETTING LESS MONEY. WHAT THE HELL ARE WE GOING TO DO.? HOW COULD WE HAVE LET THIS HAPPEN? HOW COULD WE HAVE LET BUSH DO THIS TO US. HE ISNOW ON HIS RANCH DRAWING A GOOD PENSION AND SCREW US. GOD BLESS AMERICA AND GOD BLESS US AS WE ARE HEADED FOR WORSE TIMES.
2-04-2009 @ 9:26PM
undrgrndgirl said...
sneaker - that's "dog eat dog"...
me, too never heard of this outfit til today...