Hastings Entertainment files for bankruptcy; looking to sell off stores

[store215]

Hastings' parent company files for bankruptcy
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
By Bridget Brown ~ Southeast Missourian

Another national company with ties to Southeast Missouri initiated filings Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Draw Another Circle, the parent company of Hastings Entertainment LLC and its sister brands, SPImages and MovieStop, is evaluating offers for the assets of Hastings in an effort to maximize stakeholder value.

According to a news release, Hastings will continue to operate as usual while potential offers are evaluated, maintaining associates’ existing wages and benefit programs.

Draw Another Circle has secured $90 million in new debtor-in-possession financing to help ensure the businesses can meet their financial commitments throughout this process.

http://www.semissourian.com/story/2313146.html

I'm not too familiar with this chain, but I didn't realize they were doing so poorly. And it looks like MovieStop was once a part of GameStop (almost identical logo), but they were spun off to Hastings a few years ago.

[JimSawhill]

Hastings' parent company files for bankruptcy
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
By Bridget Brown ~ Southeast Missourian

Another national company with ties to Southeast Missouri initiated filings Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Draw Another Circle, the parent company of Hastings Entertainment LLC and its sister brands, SPImages and MovieStop, is evaluating offers for the assets of Hastings in an effort to maximize stakeholder value.

According to a news release, Hastings will continue to operate as usual while potential offers are evaluated, maintaining associates’ existing wages and benefit programs.

Draw Another Circle has secured $90 million in new debtor-in-possession financing to help ensure the businesses can meet their financial commitments throughout this process.

http://www.semissourian.com/story/2313146.html

I'm not too familiar with this chain, but I didn't realize they were doing so poorly. And it looks like MovieStop was once a part of GameStop (almost identical logo), but they were spun off to Hastings a few years ago.

Never heard of them....I guess I'll put a store of theirs on my model railroad layout. On it, I have a huge mall anchored by 7 stores...G.Fox, Alexander's, Sage Allen, Pomeroy, Korvette, Butterfields' and Forbes & Wallace. I guess my layout is a perfect world, since the New Haven and the Ontario & Western are financially stable. :-)

[EddieJ1984]

Yep the MovieStop near me (Northeast Philadelphia) closed wednesday, I was literally in the store at 5pm when they closed for good and the UPS truck came to cart off any unsold merchandise.
Nabbed Star Wars: The Force Awakens om blu-ray $12 the weekend prior tho :)
Here's a pic from its last day, before becoming Moviestop in late 2007 or early 2008 it was a Blockbuster.

[dmx10101]

It's over...

Unable to find a buyer, entertainment retailer to close all stores
July 25, 2016 | By Marianne Wilson

Hastings Entertainment is going out of business.

The company, founded in 1968, filed Chapter 11 in June, with the hopes of finding a buyer, but none materialized. On June 20, Hilco Merchant Resources and Gordon Brothers Group bought the company to oversee liquidation of the stores in a contractual joint venture. The partners started going-out-of-business sales at all Hastings locations on Saturday, July 23.

"Our hope was that the Chapter 11 process would help to prepare our business for the intended sale while also providing additional protections and financing to allow us to serve our customers as usual,” said Jim Litwak, president & COO, Hastings Entertainment. “Unfortunately, this process was unsuccessful.”
   
Hastings operates 123 superstores, averaging approximately 24,000 sq. ft., primarily in medium-sized markets. Its debts include about $80 million in secured loans and $59 million in trade bills, according to the Wall Street Journal. In 2015, it lost $16.6 million on $401 million in revenue.

[mvcg66b3r]

RIP Hastings Entertainment 1968-2016  :(

[retailisking]

Nowadays whenever a retail chain files Chapter 11 and announces that it's looking for a buyer, you can be almost certain that liquidation is the next step.

[Chuck E. Cheese]

^