Due to the lockdown during the epidemic, most people have lost the opportunity to go out to consume, which can make the public's wallet not become empty due to consumption, but it has made some merchants not only dry up their wallets, but also face the dilemma of negative assets.
According to the Daily Mail, lord & Taylor, the oldest department store in the United States, will close all stores after nearly 200 years of operation. Because under the devastation of the epidemic, the US retail industry has been hit hard. The company said on Aug. 27 that it would close all 38 of its stores and clear sales, including some inventory, equipment, furniture and equipment, contrary to the idea it announced last week to keep 14 stores.
Lord & Taylor opened a dry goods store in Manhattan in 1824, but was sold to the French clothing rental company Le Tote Inc the previous year. The two companies filed for bankruptcy protection earlier this month in eastern Virginia court.
Le tote's chief restructuring officer Kramer said in a statement that while they are still considering various opportunities, they believe it is prudent to liquidate the remaining stores while seeking the company's branding options to maximize inventory value.
Admittedly, for them, at this critical juncture, being able to minimize their losses is their only pursuit at the moment. Last year, before the coronavirus, the company sold its 11-story flagship tower on Fifth Avenue in New York for more than a century. The landmark was later acquired by partner company WeWork. But earlier this month, Amazon announced that it had acquired the building as a new office in Manhattan. In this way, in the case of economic downturn, the building has also become a "hot potato".
In addition, not only this department store, which already has a long history, cannot survive the epidemic, this year, dozens of retailers of all sizes, including more than 20 stores, have applied for bankruptcy protection. For example, men's wearhouse and jos. a. bank。 It is reported that the two companies also declared bankruptcy on August 27, and the holding companies of the two companies also did not get enough orders because of the lack of public demand for suits or ties, and also applied for bankruptcy protection.
Last month, the 200-year-old Brooks brothers filed for bankruptcy protection. It is understood that the company has designed clothing for almost every U.S. president. Its rival Barnes Department Store in New York is being dissolved after filing for bankruptcy last year, but in this case, the Brooks brothers have not had the last laugh.
In addition, J. crew, j.c. penney, neiman marcus, stage stores, and ascena retail group also joined the bankruptcy.
It should be noted that these are only some well-known enterprises, and those unknown small enterprises can only end up with a "no such store". Moreover, data show that as of the first half of 2020, the number of bankruptcies in the US retail sector far exceeded the number of retail store bankruptcies in the whole of last year. Judging by the severity of the epidemic in the United States, many retailers will join the bankruptcy army in the remaining months of this year.
Since the beginning of the epidemic this year, the slow response of all aspects of the United States has almost reached the point of shocking vulgarity. Although the US government is not panicked, some people cannot be calm in the face of such a situation. The successive bankruptcies of schools, shops, and businesses are not uncommon in the United States, and what is worse is that as long as the epidemic cannot be controlled one day, such a situation will continue, and no one can predict who will suffer next.