BUST: Multi-Location Movie Theater Chains Struggle
With Oscar season around the corner, let’s examine the silver screen (or lack thereof). A 100-year-old movie theater MULO (multi-location) operation just declared bankruptcy. Founded in the day of silent films, Metropolitan Theaters has 16 theaters and 87 screens, including two IMAX auditoriums in California, Colorado, and Utah. The pandemic and the rise of the […]
Retail Bankruptcies: Life in the ‘Express’ Lane
Business and retail media are filled with stories of companies that are in the express lane towards restructuring and holding huge sales on their way toward bankruptcy. It has become such a popular topic of speculation that one online source even gives odds of bankruptcy filing. Over the past week, the media was placing odds […]
BUST: A Hard Landing as Soft Surroundings Files for Bankruptcy
Here we go again…another beloved retailer shutters its brick-and-mortar operations. Soft Surroundings filed for bankruptcy this week. This MULO (multi-location) women’s clothing brand once had 80 locations physical locations (reduced to 44) and is now shuttering all of them. The company, which released its first catalog in 1999, also sold home goods and accessories. However, […]
Party On! Bankruptcy for Party City May Not Be the End
The media is filled with stories these days of MULO (multi-location) retailers closing stores and doors and declaring bankruptcy. Our BUST series covered Bed Bath & Beyond, Jenny Craig, Christmas Tree Shops, and others. But before you start ringing the death knell on one more MULO brick-and-mortar retailer or restaurant, be aware that the party […]
BUST: The Wrong Time for Rite Aid
Bankruptcies and store closings have hit the retail world hard this year. Bed Bath & Beyond was the most notable, and Christmas Tree Shops and Jenny Craig are among the other retail brands that closed doors in 2023. Rite Aid is the latest MULO (multi-location) brand to suffer the impact of retail shrinkage. Although the […]
BUST: Wild Wing Cafe Declares Bankruptcy
Looking at the website of this MULO (multi-location) brand, one would think it has all the makings of the queen of the coop. Wild Wing Cafe boasts locally-sourced ingredients, a loyalty program, live entertainment, and even free wings with a $5 purchase. It states they have “40 locations and growing.” But the franchise just joined a […]
BUST: Multi-Location (MULO) Restaurants & Retailers Declaring Bankruptcy in 2023
Although we all watched in dismay (and perhaps fear) as Bed Bath & Beyond and Jenny Craig took nosedives this year, reports of other brands facing the multi-location (MULO) “apocalypse” may contain more than a little hype. Here are some facts: More than 2,100 retail locations are expected to close in 2023, but Bed Bath […]
Fire Sale: How Multi-Location Businesses Should Handle Downturns and Fails
This year alone, more than 2,000 retail locations have closed. The major casualties include Party City, Jenny Craig, and Bed Bath & Beyond. Some multi-location restaurants are also slimming down, shuttering locations in markets that aren’t performing well. That doesn’t necessarily mean the beginning of the end for the brands. They may simply reduce expenses to […]