Still a Cheap Bastard

[WheresFanny]

LNT report as of Monday: Looks like all the 10% stuff has now been raised to 20%. Big wow.

They have 40% off Christmas trees and 20% off of everything else. The aisles are filled with stuff and I see no bare shelves and very few sparse ones.

GIve it up, LNT! We're not playing your little "20% off! Everything must go!" game.

[sunflower]

I hate them, I really do. It's such a joke. I refuse to go in there until I see the "up to" 70% off signs, maybe then I can get something at 40% off.

Even Tweeter is up to 50% off and they just announced their stores were closing a week or two ago. LNT is really trying to milk it through Christmas but I won't buy a single gift there, as they can't be returned.

[ontellen]

So, I went in yesterday and bought 2 bowls at 20% off. Not a good deal but I wanted to get started on my Christmas shopping. I also got a good deal on a serving platter that was $40. marked down to $12.50.

However, I did notice that the store is still stocked to the rafters. WTF???? Since it's only 5 mins. away, I will be watching and waiting for those 70% deals.

Actually, compared to our Canadian version - Home Outfitters - LNT was way cheaper for the same things. LTN was doing well in Canada but since the U.S. business is belly up, the Canadian has to follow.

[silverscreenselect]

When chain retailers do "Going Out of Business" sales like this, they sell their inventory in bulk to a liquidator who then tries to get as much as they can for it by cutting prices as little as they need to for as long as they can. The liquidator also takes over responsibility for payroll for the ongoing employees (or hires temps if too many quit) and rent, utilities, and other expenses.

They also restock the stores periodically with merchandise they have picked up other places that they are trying to sell as well. It's easier and cheaper to buy up bulk shipments from small retailers and wholesalers and then sell them as part of a big liquidation like Linens than it is to liquidate them separately. So it's not surprising to find the stores "stocked to the roof" with merchandise even after the sale has been going on for a while. Since it's the Xmas season, they will try to get everything they can into the stores to get holiday shoppers to buy them.

[WheresFanny]

When chain retailers do "Going Out of Business" sales like this, they sell their inventory in bulk to a liquidator who then tries to get as much as they can for it by cutting prices as little as they need to for as long as they can. The liquidator also takes over responsibility for payroll for the ongoing employees (or hires temps if too many quit) and rent, utilities, and other expenses.

They also restock the stores periodically with merchandise they have picked up other places that they are trying to sell as well. It's easier and cheaper to buy up bulk shipments from small retailers and wholesalers and then sell them as part of a big liquidation like Linens than it is to liquidate them separately. So it's not surprising to find the stores "stocked to the roof" with merchandise even after the sale has been going on for a while. Since it's the Xmas season, they will try to get everything they can into the stores to get holiday shoppers to buy them.

I dunno. I'm pretty familiar with most of LNT's stock and I didn't see anything that looked like it wasn't there before. Plus would they go to the hassle of stamping everything with LNT price stickers rather than just putting a sign in front of the display?

[silverscreenselect]

When chain retailers do "Going Out of Business" sales like this, they sell their inventory in bulk to a liquidator who then tries to get as much as they can for it by cutting prices as little as they need to for as long as they can. The liquidator also takes over responsibility for payroll for the ongoing employees (or hires temps if too many quit) and rent, utilities, and other expenses.

They also restock the stores periodically with merchandise they have picked up other places that they are trying to sell as well. It's easier and cheaper to buy up bulk shipments from small retailers and wholesalers and then sell them as part of a big liquidation like Linens than it is to liquidate them separately. So it's not surprising to find the stores "stocked to the roof" with merchandise even after the sale has been going on for a while. Since it's the Xmas season, they will try to get everything they can into the stores to get holiday shoppers to buy them.

I dunno. I'm pretty familiar with most of LNT's stock and I didn't see anything that looked like it wasn't there before. Plus would they go to the hassle of stamping everything with LNT price stickers rather than just putting a sign in front of the display?

As some of the stores get low on stock, they close them up and ship their remaining stock to the remaining stores (why sell the last few things at 90% off when you can ship them across town and sell them for 50% off and quit paying utilities, rent, and salaries on the closed store). In addition, they are clearing out all the company's warehouses, taking final delivery on all orders that can't be cancelled, and getting all that merchandise into the stores.

[WheresFanny]

When chain retailers do "Going Out of Business" sales like this, they sell their inventory in bulk to a liquidator who then tries to get as much as they can for it by cutting prices as little as they need to for as long as they can. The liquidator also takes over responsibility for payroll for the ongoing employees (or hires temps if too many quit) and rent, utilities, and other expenses.

They also restock the stores periodically with merchandise they have picked up other places that they are trying to sell as well. It's easier and cheaper to buy up bulk shipments from small retailers and wholesalers and then sell them as part of a big liquidation like Linens than it is to liquidate them separately. So it's not surprising to find the stores "stocked to the roof" with merchandise even after the sale has been going on for a while. Since it's the Xmas season, they will try to get everything they can into the stores to get holiday shoppers to buy them.

I dunno. I'm pretty familiar with most of LNT's stock and I didn't see anything that looked like it wasn't there before. Plus would they go to the hassle of stamping everything with LNT price stickers rather than just putting a sign in front of the display?

As some of the stores get low on stock, they close them up and ship their remaining stock to the remaining stores (why sell the last few things at 90% off when you can ship them across town and sell them for 50% off and quit paying utilities, rent, and salaries on the closed store). In addition, they are clearing out all the company's warehouses, taking final delivery on all orders that can't be cancelled, and getting all that merchandise into the stores.

And that totally makes sense. It was the other 'small retailers and wholesalers' part of your post that seemed odd, like they were using the opportunity to try and become a Big Lots or something. Which, in some cases and some liquidators, might be the way to go, but I didn't see anything to indicate that the LNT liquidation was doing that.

[silverscreenselect]

I dunno. I'm pretty familiar with most of LNT's stock and I didn't see anything that looked like it wasn't there before. Plus would they go to the hassle of stamping everything with LNT price stickers rather than just putting a sign in front of the display?

As some of the stores get low on stock, they close them up and ship their remaining stock to the remaining stores (why sell the last few things at 90% off when you can ship them across town and sell them for 50% off and quit paying utilities, rent, and salaries on the closed store). In addition, they are clearing out all the company's warehouses, taking final delivery on all orders that can't be cancelled, and getting all that merchandise into the stores.

And that totally makes sense. It was the other 'small retailers and wholesalers' part of your post that seemed odd, like they were using the opportunity to try and become a Big Lots or something. Which, in some cases and some liquidators, might be the way to go, but I didn't see anything to indicate that the LNT liquidation was doing that.

They do merge other inventory in sometimes if there is a fit. For example, if they are liquidating a computer chain like CompUSA, they might bring in other computers or software, but they wouldn't bring in pots and pans. This usually happens during the later stages of a liquidation. Psychologically, if people see very little merchandise left in a store, they will think there's something wrong with whatever's left over and be hesitant to buy it for that reason alone unless they get it for virtually nothing. By bringing in other stuff, the store looks fuller and people will feel better about buying at a slightly higher price.

[PlacentiaSoccerMom]

They might end up getting rid of their stuff at the local Goodwill. I am working on baskets for a Band Fundraiser. The person that I am working with was looking for baskets at Goodwill and found a bunch of Christmas 2007 items from Target.