As a sign of how disconnected one can be, I had to ask my 12-year old about Steve & Barry's. I had not heard of it and it is receiving way too many comments on our site to be ignored. My colleague Zac Bissonnette started blogging about it a month ago Steve & Barry's on the brink of bankruptcy? and the comments are still coming in strong as the story progressed.
Steve & Barry's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 9, 2008, and information about its status and answers to frequently asked questions can be found here.
The company has been expanding rapidly and clearly hit a brick wall with consumer budgets severely strained and the economy facing uncertainty in the short term. However, this is supposed to be a discount chain. Perhaps the discounting amounted to selling dollars for ninety cents, and it could not make it up on volume.
This is a relatively small company, but clearly it matters to a lot of people. The number of comments we have received has surpassed most of our recent stories, even those of the Bear Stearns takeover (acquired by JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM)) and the IndyMac (NYSE: IDMC) collapse.
Steve & Barry's might have had an IPO sometime in its future, but that is not likely in the current environment. What is it that makes this story so compelling to our readers? If it is because the stores are so great, what went wrong in your neighborhood?
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money. Disclosure: I own shares of any of JPM.
Goody's Family Clothing, a retailer of lower priced clothing, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this week. To this end, the company will shut down 103 stores (about a quarter of the total) as well as a distribution center. Goody's is located primarily in the southeast and has been around since 1953.
It was back in 2005 that Robert Goodfriend (the son of the founder of Goody's) agreed to a $327 million buyout (the private equity sponsors included Prentice Capital Management and GMM Capital). Unfortunately, since then Goody's has been consistently losing money -- perhaps because of the heavy debt load and competition from the like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT). According to the bankruptcy filing, the company has $313 million in assets and $443 million in debt.
Actually, there have been a variety of recent bankrutpcies for retailers, such as Lillian Vernon Corp., Linens 'n Things Inc., Sharper Image and Levitz Furniture Inc. And, as the economy continues to slow down, I'm sure we'll see more.
Eos was an improbably candidate for success in the airline industry. It flew one route, from New York's JFK to London. It was an all-business-class carrier.
Now, Eos is bankrupt. Having only one route, added to the rising price of jet fuel, cut the carrier down.
The news raises the question, once again, whether small and large airlines alike can make it though the current increase in fuel prices and a recession without having to file for Chapter 11. It was only four years ago that most U.S. carriers had to seek protection in the courts. AMR (NYSE: AMR) was one exception. That hurts it now because it did not use bankruptcy to cut its debt and the costs of its workforce. That may make it the most likely candidate of any American carrier to hit the air pocket of insolvency.
The oil price crisis my be so bad that, coupled with falling passenger revenue in a sharp and prolonged downturn, even mergers like the one planned by Delta (NYSE: DAL) and Northwest (NYSE: NWA) will not save them.
That will leave the banks, who hold most of the debt on airline balance sheets, holding the bag.
Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.
Grocery store chain Winn Dixie Stores Inc. (NASDAQ: WINN) is emerging from bankruptcy with remodeled stores, better shopping conditions and product mix, improved customer service, and strict attention to cost management. Same store sales for 1Q 2008 are essentially flat, but the company posted a huge reduction in net loss, $800,000, down from $24.6 million net loss one year ago, a $23.8 million improvement. Net income for 1Q 2008 was $1.6 billion, up $11 million. Gross profits increased $22 million to $446.4 million, and the 30 remodeled stores have registered increased foot traffic. Winn Dixie plans to remodel a total of 75 stores in 2008.
Winn Dixie is also focusing on cost control as it emerges from Chapter 11. Administrative and promotional expenses have been slashed, as have costs at the company's distribution facilities. Winn Dixie still faces significant capital expenditures for store remodeling, at least $140 million. Legal costs to emerge from bankruptcy will run in the $5 million to $7 million range.
Even in the midst of a difficult and complex multi-year turnaround, Winn Dixie has acted to gain the goodwill of consumers and investors. Winn Dixie remodeled and reopened one of the first full-service grocery stores in lower east side New Orleans to help the city rebuild. The company is on the front lines in the fight against breast cancer, providing educational materials in its stores and sponsoring free mammograms for women without access to health care services.
The stock currently trades around $19. Given the success of the company's turnaround thus far, this is a stock for bargain hunters to investigate.
It's a DVD-on-demand world; we just live in it. With customers increasingly turning to the likes of Netflix (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Blockbuster (NYSE: BBI) to get their film choices delivered directly to their homes, it's no wonder that traditional brick-and-mortar movie-rental chains are suffering.
Today, Hollywood Video parent Movie Gallery (NASDAQ: MOVI) -- the nation's second-largest video-rental chain, lagging behind only BBI -- said it would seek bankruptcy protection from its creditors. The retailer plans to reduce debt by $400 million. On its Chapter 11 petition filed Tuesday morning with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va., MOVI listed assets of $892 million and $1.4 billion in debt, citing increasing losses and building competitive pressures. The handwriting was on the wall in late September, when company CEO Joe Malugen said Movie Gallery would close 520 unprofitable stores to focus on 4,000 stronger locations.
Industry analyst Stacey Widlitz told Bloomberg: "I don't think bankruptcy will save [MOVI]. They have no edge versus the competition ... I think store closings will only accelerate." Another analyst with Wedbush Morgan securities noted that MOVI was "very slow to cut costs ... and that's what killed them."
Already in penny-stock territory, MOVI has dropped more than 17% today to hit a new annual low of 19 cents per share.
Less than two weeks ago, shares of Movie Gallery Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVI) surged more than 17% on news that the company was closing 13% of its stores. On Monday, the stock is set to tank on reports that the company is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection in a prepackaged deal that would exchange its debt obligations for equity.
According to The Wall Street Journal (subscription required), "The Dothan, Ala., company will file for bankruptcy this month and hopes to emerge from Chapter 11 in early 2008, according to people with direct knowledge of Movie Gallery's plans. They spoke on condition that they not be identified."
The company is burdened with a massive debt load, much of it the result of its ill-conceived $1 billion acquisition of Hollywood Video in 2005. Interestingly, Movie Gallery outbid Blockbuster Inc. (NYSE: BBI) for that prize: File that one under Pyrrhic victory.
Brick-and-mortar movie rental outlets have struggled with competition from services like Netflix Inc. (NASDAQ: NFLX) and Blockbuster's Total Access program.
Although short selling -- the practice of selling borrowed shares with the hope of repaying the loan by buying back the shares at a lower price -- goes against the American belief that stocks always go up, I have long been fascinated with it. Short Stories discusses what works, what doesn't, and what some of the leading lights in shorting stocks think about its opportunities and threats. I describe possible short trades and seek your comments and questions for story ideas. I don't offer any investment advice and I don't trade on any of the posts I write.
Bally Total Fitness Holdings Inc. (Other OTC: BFTH), which I suggested shorting back in November, has filed for bankruptcy. According to Reuters, Bally listed $396.8 million of assets and $761.3 million of debts as of December 31. Its bankruptcy plan would wipe out common shareholders reduce debt by $150 million and provide $90 million of capital through a rights offering. Bally also lined up $292 million of financing to fund operations during and after bankruptcy proceedings. Today's announcement is confusing since it reportedly filed for bankruptcy in June, as well.
When I first suggested shorting Bally, I thought it was losing so much money that it would not be able to pay back its debts. It also had lots of accounting problems and was in violation of the terms of its lending agreements. But I was concerned that JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE: JPM) had offered a rescue finance package and that hedge fund guru, Stevie Cohen was a big Bally investor.
But I turned out to be right and investors who had followed my advice and covered today would be 709% richer since Bally dropped from $2.59 to $0.32.
Northwest Airlines (NYSE: NWA) believes that a reduction in flights may restore orderly service after a week of massive cancellations last month. The airline blamed those cancellations on severe weather, air traffic control problems and pilot absenteeism, which was an astonishing 80% higher last month than in 2006. The Air Line Pilots Association's Monty Montgomery told Reuters that it would be more accurate to attribute the cancellations to inadequate staffing during the peak summer travel season.
The number five U.S. airline said last Friday that it would cancel one of its Detroit-to-Frankfurt flights starting July 18th to free up pilots, and would cut its domestic mainland capacity by 3%. "I think this is better than last-minute cancellations, but we would prefer that we have enough pilots to fly all the revenue flights," says Montgomery.
The cancellations come shortly after Northwest's exit from Chapter 11 during which relations between management and workers had been far from stellar – mainly due to the forced pay cuts for many workers. Instead of looking ahead, workers have focused on the millions in stock awards given to CEO Doug Steenland, while rank-and-file sacrificed to keep the company afloat.
At a time when pilot salaries are seemingly continuously cut, executives decided to give themselves a hefty raise. One day, executives will figure out that it was the workers who helped to pull the company out of bankruptcy, and that maybe they should get a raise, too.
Delta Airlines Inc. (OTC:DALRQ) Chief Executive Gerald Grinstein isn't expecting a pat on the back when the airline emerges from bankruptcy. In fact, he's not expecting much of anything.
Grinstein, who is planning to step down when Delta emerges from Chapter 11, declined all management equity awards, payments or severance that he otherwise would be entitled. When asked why he's forgoing the money, Grinstein told the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) that Delta "is a terrific company, and I wanted to see it succeed if I could help." He will continue collect a base salary of $338,000.
How refreshing to find a CEO that understand that it's not all about him. The Journal points out that Grinstein already has amassed a fortune from his business career.
Of course, Delta's employees deserve to be rewarded for their sacrifices.
When Delta emerges from bankruptcy in May about 39,000 workers will share $480 million in lump-sum payouts and equity, according to the Associated Press, adding that 1,200 management employees will hold a 2.5 percent stake in the company valued at $240 million. Pilots and flight dispatchers, who are represented by unions, will not receive lump sum and equity payouts but will participate in profit sharing and rewards program in exchange for wage concession.
Once Delta emerges from bankruptcy, investors should avoid the stock for a long time. The future remains as cloudy as ever for the airline industry.
As a sign of how disconnected one can be, I had to ask my 12-year old about Steve & Barry's. I had not heard of it and it is receiving way too many comments on our site to be ignored. My colleague Zac Bissonnette started blogging about it a month ago Steve & Barry's on the brink of bankruptcy? and the comments are still coming in strong as the story progressed.
and 
. He also operates 
Grocery store chain 
It's a DVD-on-demand world; we just live in it. With customers increasingly turning to the likes of 
Today, Hollywood Video parent 
Although short selling -- the practice of selling borrowed shares with the hope of repaying the loan by buying back the shares at a lower price -- goes against the American belief that stocks always go up, I have long been fascinated with it. Short Stories discusses what works, what doesn't, and what some of the leading lights in shorting stocks think about its opportunities and threats. I describe possible short trades and seek your comments and questions for story ideas. I don't offer any investment advice and I don't trade on any of the posts I write.
Before the bell: Wall Street headed higher; automakers, retailers in focus
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