Skip to search.

"Expect More Bankruptcies": Worst Yet to Come For Retail, Says CEO of Inventory Liquidator

Posted Jun 24, 2009 07:05am EDT by Peter Gorenstein in Electronics, Internet, Products and Trends, Recession
Related: sks, m, jwn, ^dji, XRT, RTH, ebay

Circuit City, Mervyns and Filene’s Basement; just a few of the many recent retail casualties. If you think it’s bad now, it’s only going to get worse, says Jeffrey Hoffman.  In this clip, Hoffman the CEO of Enable Holdings - the parent company of online auction house uBid.com and fixed-price discount retailer RedTag.com - explains the difficulties facing retailers and manufacturers.

Hoffman thinks many companies didn’t anticipate the size and scope of the recession, leaving them with way too much inventory. The result: his liquidation business is booming. For his clients, it’s a different story.

Recently, Hoffman’s become a popular guy with attorneys and bankers representing companies on the verge of bankruptcy. They turn to him, he says, in hopes of selling their excess merchandise online.  He can’t disclose which retailers are in dire straits, but says “there’s a lot more brand names we grew up with that are just not going to make it.”  

Of course, this means great deals for consumers, especially in apparel, jewelry and consumer electronics, as Hoffman details in an upcoming segment.

Go to Tech Ticker

There are no comments yet

Post a comment

Sign in to post a comment, or Sign up for a free account.
Quotes delayed, except where indicated otherwise. Delay times are 15 mins for NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex. See also delay times for other exchanges.

Quotes and other information supplied by independent providers identified on the Yahoo! Finance partner page. Quotes are updated automatically, but will be turned off after 25 minutes of inactivity. Quotes are delayed at least 15 minutes for NASDAQ, NYSE and Amex. See also delay times for other exchanges. Real-Time continuous streaming quotes are available through our premium service. You may turn streaming quotes on or off. Fundamental company data provided by Capital IQ. Financials data provided by Edgar Online. Historical chart data and daily updates provided by Commodity Systems, Inc. (CSI). International historical chart data, daily updates, fund summary, fund performance, dividend data and Morningstar Index data provided by Morningstar, Inc. Analyst estimates data provided by Thomson Financial Network. All data provided by Thomson Financial Network is based solely upon research information provided by third party analysts. Yahoo! has not reviewed, and in no way endorses the validity of such data. Yahoo! and ThomsonFN shall not be liable for any actions taken in reliance thereon. All information provided "as is" for informational purposes only, not intended for trading purposes or advice. Neither Yahoo! nor any of independent providers is liable for any informational errors, incompleteness, or delays, or for any actions taken in reliance on information contained herein. By accessing the Yahoo! site, you agree not to redistribute the information found therein.