After a brief attempt to save its stores, Modell’s has decided to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections and liquidate its inventory, meaning the company’s two Upper West Side locations will be closed.
The two Modell’s sporting goods locations on the Upper West Side — at 77th and Amsterdam and 97th and Columbus — have been holding sales in the past few weeks. An employee on 97th said they didn’t have a definite closure date yet.
“While we achieved some success, in partnership with our landlords and vendors, it was not enough to avoid a bankruptcy filing amid an extremely challenging environment for retailers,” CEO Mitchell Modell said in a statement obtained by Chain Store Age.
“This is certainly not the outcome I wanted, and it is one of the most difficult days of my life,” he added. “But I believe liquidation provides the greatest recovery for our creditors.”
Both stores on the UWS are enormous and could be tough to fill at a time when several other chain stores have also been closing.
I went there two weeks ago at the Columbus Square location. The sales are not even big. Barely 20% max off. I’m going again today to see if they upped the discounts.
Liquidation bankruptcy sales all pretty much go same. Greatest selection but lowest discounts are early days. As the process goes on discounts increase but inventory (or at least good stuff) decreases. But last days when everything is picked over, and nothing is left but sad remains; discounts are greatest.
Barneys, Radio Shack, Gracious Home, etc.. all pretty much stuck to that script. Will say Gracious Home was a bit unorganized; when they closed UWS store there was still plenty of good inventory left. All of it was thrown out for trash much to delight of many.
Purpose of liquidation sale is to raise funds. Inventory has value so debtor tries to extract as much of it as possible.
At some point professional liquidators will come in and start buying up goods in job lots. These are the people you see on internet, Nationwide Warehouse type stores, etc…
Thank you for a fascinating story.
What’s going on with Beacon Hardware on Amsterdam and78th?
Closed
Hooray!!!
Maybe they can turn this stretch of Columbus into a temporary underground hospital? There’s got to be a million square feet of vacant space there now. Duane Reade, Pet Co, and now Modells.
Sad.
I’ve suggested similar uses for public facilities in short supply. Urgent care locations might be better suited for medical purposes.
https://www.westsiderag.com/2020/02/26/modells-boss-trying-to-save-two-uws-stores-report-says#comment-408655
Oopq, the Beacon buyers changed their mind. From WSR:
“On Friday morning we made the decision that we didn’t have the resources to carry it going forward, given the new circumstances,” Segundo told WSR late Sunday afternoon. “We decided to stay with the two other stores we own and let people with more money run the Beacon space.” (The More family owns 73rd Street Hardware, between Columbus and CPW, and 105 Columbus Hardware, on 105th Street.) “It’s better for us and for the neighborhood,” he said. “The landlord let us out of the lease.”