Retailers dropping like flies
Linens 'n Things, the retailer of bedroom and bathroom products, recently declared Chapter 11. The company was squeezed out the market by its bigger rival Bed, Bath, and Beyond on the one hand, and by discounters Wal-Mart and Target on the other.
Linens 'n Things, which has 590 stores across the US and Canada, is owned by Apollo Management, which took it private in 2005. It's an interesting case of failure in the private equity market.
The company is only the biggest of a growing catalog of US retailers that have declared Chapter 11 this year. These include:
- The Sharper Image, the gadget chain
- Fortunoff, jewelry and gifts
- Bombay and Company, furniture
- Wickes Furniture
- Lilian Vernon, holiday decorations
- The Children's Place
And of course, both Blockbuster and Circuit City are in danger. (Incredibly enough, that proposed deal of losers is still moving forward.)
The conclusions:
- As has often been pointed out, there is an obscene excess of retail space in the US, and while Americans like to shop till they drop, they are now dropping.
- In a climate of retrenchment, the biggest survive while the also-rans run out of gas (literally)-thus the importance of being the biggest
- Do and did anyone ever buy anything from The Bombay Company? Just asking.
10:46:00 PM 
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