Posted on 04/30/2023 8:43:25 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
For 2009 there were 118 bankruptcies through April. In Covid-impacted 2020, there were 71 bankruptcies. In 2023 there have been 70.
This is the third worst start to the year since 2000. Here's the Tweet.
The bankruptcy spotlight list is condensed from a detailed report by CBInsights.
NBC reports Bed Bath and Beyond Prepares for Store Closings
"Thank you to all of our loyal customers," Bed Bath & Beyond said in a message posted to social media on Monday. "We have made the difficult decision to begin winding down our operations. Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY stores remain open to serve you."
According to the retailer's website, "deep discount" store closing sales are expected to begin in stores and online beginning Wednesday, and "all purchases during our store closing sales will be final."
According to the retailer, Bed Bath & Beyond websites, along with 360 brick-and-mortar stores and 120 buybuy BABY locations will "remain open and continue serving customers as the Company begins its efforts to effectuate the closure of its retail locations."
In Illinois, only eight Bed Bath & Beyond stores remain open, along with five buybuy BABY stores. Earlier this year, Bed Bath & Beyond announced closures of 19 stores across Illinois, many of them in the Chicago area.
Bed Bath and Beyond is no longer accepting coupons. Gift cards and loyalty certificates are still valid. All sales are final.
CNN reports One in four brides wear David’s Bridal to their wedding. Now, it’s filing for bankruptcy
“An increasing number of brides are opting for less traditional wedding attire, including thrift wedding dresses,” David’s Bridal said in a bankruptcy filing. “These shifting consumer preferences have significantly exacerbated” the company’s financial crunch.
“The demand for formal wedding dresses, bridesmaid dresses, and related accessories has decreased substantially in the current environment,” the company said in its filing.
David’s Bridal will keep its nearly 300 stores and website operating and fulfill all customer orders as it searches for a buyer for the company. It will also honor gift cards, returns and exchanges. But if David’s Bridal is not able to find a buyer, it could have to close all stores and liquidate.
The company has around 10,000 full and part-time employees, but last week it said it was laying off 9,000 workers.
David’s Bridal, the successor to a bridal retailing business that began as a single bridal salon in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, in 1950, said approximately 25% of brides in the United States wear one of its gowns at their wedding.
Data from Commerce Department, chart by Mish.To create the chart I subtracted food, gasoline, motor vehicles, and items one does not normally buy online, then took the nonstore percentage of what remained.
Not only have consumer preferences shifted on what people buy, preferences have shifted in the way people buy.
The percentage of shopping online has been steadily rising but the Covid pandemic goosed the trend. It's about four percentage points above the prior trend.
Amazon was the big beneficiary. It explains Amazon's earnings report. Nonetheless, not all is well with Amazon.
On April 26, Geekwire reported Latest round of Amazon layoffs begins today, impacting AWS and human resources
Amazon began notifying Amazon Web Services and human resources employees impacted by its latest round of layoffs on Wednesday, as the company continues to trim headcount to cut costs.
The layoffs are part of the 9,000-person corporate workforce reduction announced by the company in March. The cuts mostly affect AWS, human resources (which Amazon calls PXT, for People Experience and Technology), Amazon Advertising, and Twitch.
Amazon in January announced a 18,000-person layoff, the largest in the Seattle company’s history. The additional 9,000 layoffs bring the total to 27,000 job cuts, about 8% of Amazon’s corporate workforce, which previously numbered around 350,000 people.
The company has trimmed back and eliminated several products, services, and entire businesses over the past year to help cut expenses, including its Scout neighborhood delivery robots, its Amazon Care primary healthcare business, bricks-and-mortar Amazon bookstores, and others. Amazon said Wednesday that it was shutting down its Halo health devices and service.
On April 12, I commented Fed Minutes Now Predict a Recession This Year Along With Higher Unemployment. Also note M2 Money Supply Declines 8 Straight Months, ODL Down 12 Straight Months.
The economy is slowing fast. A rise in unemployment will follow,
The only good news is the wedding industry is tanking.
David’s Bridal is a shocker. So is Party City where my younger daughter worked years ago.
I think most box stores run on 8% profit. If online sells, raise in rent because of inflation, and shoplifting/theft cut into that profit, they will cease to exist. They will all go on line, and deliver the product directly. Eliminate overhead costs. Watch self driving cars. They are they future of delivery. No more stoned pizza delivery drivers.
Bidungs “Build Back Better” is just humming along, isn’t it!?
So four months into 2023, we have already had over half of the number of company bankruptcies filed as we did in 2009. The 2009 bankruptcies were the result of the subprime mortgage crises of 2008.
The “expert” economists who are currently ignoring the problematic U.S. economy are the same ones who ignored the looming mortgage crisis in 2006 and 2007. They then also ignored the fact that the gravy train could come to a stop at any time.
bookmark
Many warnings in life go unheeded.
Whenever I go into a Home Depot or Lowes, I can never find what I am looking for, so I go home an order from Amazon. Years ago, I signed up for Amazon Prime, mainly to get stuff the next day. The next day delivery was working until the forced shutdowns. Now, the majority of the time, it is a two-day or more wait for what I ordered.
The auto dealerships are hit by this breakdown of the supply chain, as new vehicles are not available due to lacking of "chips" from overseas (isn't this what President Trump was warning us about?). Now, vehicles do not depreciate as they used to in order to collect higher fees in taxes.
BidenDepression 2023
I’ve been saying it for awhile now
No... ALL data shown is through April, in each year. This year is tracking in third place, behind 2009 and 2020.
Still... not good. The bad part hasn't even gotten here yet.
bttt
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