Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Predicting the demise of Sears & Kmart since 2017!
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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by SamSpade »

While we haven't seen any further reports (as of this writing), bankruptcy proceedings can be filed on the weekend, as we saw with Haggen, if I recall correctly. So, I suppose it's possible that store suddenly was phoned in by a regional manager or something and "closed early" to discuss with employees what was happening next to their location. (apparently conversion, not closure)

https://localnews8.com/news/blackfoot/2 ... -new-name/
Blackfoot and Burley, Idaho locations were supposed to become Gordman's March 31 (news piece published Jan 27)
Mountain Home's store permanently closed after the chain's Q4 ended early this year. It was likely too small and too close to Boise/Nampa for a Gordman's conversion.
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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by SamSpade »

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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by storewanderer »

The Gardnerville Bealls did indeed convert to Gordmans complete with new signage. The store is now closed per order of Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak due to Coronavirus and will reopen whenever the business closure order lifts.

I guess it got to open on the 17th for a while. Looking inside the windows the store is largely the same set up as before but looks really empty of inventory.
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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by BillyGr »

storewanderer wrote: March 21st, 2020, 1:08 am The Gardnerville Bealls did indeed convert to Gordmans complete with new signage. The store is now closed per order of Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak due to Coronavirus and will reopen whenever the business closure order lifts.

I guess it got to open on the 17th for a while. Looking inside the windows the store is largely the same set up as before but looks really empty of inventory.
The one here that converted in February (I believe) didn't look that empty overall (this one is one of 3 storefronts made of a former Ames/Kings/Barkers, so it wasn't super large anyway).
One might suspect that the look of your store may be just as likely to be from having problems getting stuff there as it was from financial issues (shippers being diverted to haul other items more needed at the time they were trying to bring in stock)?
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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by storewanderer »

Stage Stores has declared bankruptcy and will begin winding down operations at all banners (Gordman's, Bealls, etc.). All stores will close, unless bids come for the stores.

Funny the Gardnerville, NV Gordman's opened for like two days before the state mandated shut down, now it will get to open back up again for a liquidation sale. Oh well.

Store closing sales will start Friday.
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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by SamSpade »

Blackfoot (and one would assume, Burley) to liquidate before even having a formal grand (re) opening:
Post Register: Gordmans in Blackfoot will liquidate
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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by buckguy »

Given that Stage bought up the last of the small town department store chains like Uhlman's in the Midwest or Carlisle-Allen in Ohio/Western PA, this is probably the end of the line for mid-market department stores in a great many small towns. they usually closed the old downtown stores, so the ones that remained were small, characterless places in strip centers and the occasional small mall. They also had some stores in some bigger places like Austin, Texas--also smallish places in strip malls that I recall. I'd imagine they had more history in Texas.
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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by storewanderer »

I went to the converted Gordman's in Gardnerville, NV (former Bealls). The store is in liquidation now but there is no explicit store closing signage. But the liquidator sign package with "all sales final" and the percent off signs is there and the liquidation sale is active.

Also due to Coronavirus the fitting rooms are closed. All sales are final. It is a little tough to buy clothes sometimes without trying them on first. This is going to be a tough liquidation sale if they do not lift this policy.

I don't know how much the below really commentary really even matters since the chain is going out of business.

The store is changed minimally from when it was Bealls. Same general layout with a few changes. A little more non-clothing than before. Shoe department was downsized a little, and seems to not have the variety it had before and skews toward mostly athletic shoes now vs. a variety of shoes before. Mens has more floor space than before but less product than before. They opened up some space where they used to have purses/gloves/socks and added a "form one line" checkout (they only have two cash registers...) lined with displays of candy and other impulse items. There is also still a cash register back by shoes, which I never saw used in Bealls, and doubt will ever be used now. The store was not stocked well and the products they did have stocked, were pretty rough stuff. They do have Nike shoes and they had a lot of Levi's jeans for men at great prices ($2-$20) but generally the product offering here was less than compelling and a downgrade from before. I do not think this store would have survived in this location (generally a well off retirement community combined with a lower middle class working type community) with these items.
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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by storewanderer »

This is a dishonest liquidation sale.

The store has signs on all the racks that say 30% off. Then they have signs that say "weekend sale" buy any 3 items save an additional 15%, buy any 5 items save an additional 20%. Not sure how 4 items works.

Looked at some bedding items and there was a Gordmans our price/their price sticker on an item that said "our price 9.99 their price 18.99" and then on top of that sticker was a new plain white price label that said 14.98. So they are marking up prices on some items, beyond the old Gordmans pricing. Very honest tactic here.

They also have some big (twice the size of the grocery store ones) reusable shopping bags priced at .99 with the Gordmans or Stage Stores logos. These bags were always .99 as I had bought some in the past when the store was still open normally. Extra 30% off says the rack. Scan at .99 and was told no further discount as the .99 is "already discounted." Why does the price tag attached to the bag say .99? Was told "the system figures in all the discounts."
Then, had 3 items with tags showing 3.98 scanned at 3.18. No additional discount given, then she told me the total due, over $10 and told me to insert my card now. Wait, that is 20% off, not 30% off. Told cashier, who was up there ringing customers up the whole time I was in the store. She said "oh yes you get extra 10% off today since you bought 3 items and that sale is good all week" then proceeded to price modify the items to 2.89 each and attempted to get me to insert my card. Again I told her no that is wrong- extra 30% off means the items should be 2.78 then the extra 15% off on top of that. Eventually she made each item 2.53 each and I got tired of it and just paid and left. But this is a very dishonest liquidation sale, have not seem this level of blatant attempts to mark up products and overcharge customers as I saw in this store, and I've been to and involved in a lot of liquidation sales. This is the type of liquidation sale that gives liquidation sales bad names.
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Re: Gordmans declares bankruptcy, will liquidate stores

Post by storewanderer »

This is the last full weekend for the various Stage Stores. Supposedly most stores are supposed to close 8/29 and cease payroll entirely on 8/31. It will be interesting to see if a few random stores linger along a bit longer or the liquidators just transfer whatever is left into Stein Mart liquidations.
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