A Popular Book Store Now Files For Unexpected Bankruptcy

October 21, 2023

A popular book store has now filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after failing to meet its $1 million publishing obligations.

Bended Page, parent company of independent bookstore Tattered Cover, said Monday that it voluntarily filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Court documents indicate that the Colorado-based company owes a total of more than $1 million to book publishers, including Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, and MacMillan.

The company plans to close three of its seven stores by next month and lay off about 27 of its 103 employees.

Fortunately, the company plans to offer severance to those being let go and said some employees may have an opportunity to fill temporary holiday positions.

“If the court approves, the company said it will gain access to about $1 million of new financing that will enable the company to obtain inventory and maintain operations during the critical holiday season,” reports Retail Dive.

“Investment group Bended Page acquired Tattered Cover in late 2020. In a statement, the company said the COVID pandemic and changing market conditions caused “substantial financial issues” that affected the company’s liquidity.”

Tattered Cover generated around $10.5 million in gross revenue last year, primarily through book sales, gifts, and other related products.

There are currently five lenders that hold secured debt of around $820,000.

The company reports owing at least 200 creditors.

Last year, Tattered Cover reported a loss of $1.2 million and said it has lost $667,882 during the first three quarters of this year.

Tattered Cover plans to close stores in Denver’s McGregor Square, Westminster and Colorado Springs starting Oct. 23 and concluding by early next month.

Also Read: A US Company Now Declares An Unexpected Bankruptcy

Other Economy News Today

Massive layoffs in Washington will now affect thousands as more businesses continue to announce job cuts this year.

California remains the #1 state with the most layoffs in the country.

In second place is Colorado, followed by Illinois, Texas, Washington, New York, New Jersey, Florida, and Michigan.

“Flexport, a freight technology company, has stated it will cut 30% of its workforce, equating to over 1000 positions, across the United States.

This will be the second major round of job cuts for Flexport; in January, they let go of 640 employees.

The first of these cuts implemented are in Washington State,” reports Ash Jurberg.

“Under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, an employer with more than 100 full-time workers must provide a 60-day notice before laying off 50 or more people at a single site.”

Flexport recently filed a notice with the Washington Employment Security Department advising that 165 employees in Bellevue will lose their jobs.

The company had made the #8 spot on Inc.’s 2018 list of the 5,000 fastest-growing private companies and even passed FedEx and USPS on CNBC’s Disruptor 50 list.

However, The Information reports that gross revenue took a massive 70% hit during the first half of 2023 (YoY) due to the falling costs of global freighting.

Flexport previously received $1 billion in funding from SoftBank and was even valued at $8 billion last year, but not even its funding was able to prevent today’s aftermath.

Many other companies have filed a WARN act advising of upcoming layoffs in Washington, one of the biggest being Yellow Corp, which has left several workers in Turmoil, especially in Tennessee.

Also Read: Massive Layoffs in Ohio Now Grow According to WARN Data

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