Ritz gone for good? A couple of months ago Ritz/Wolfe was said to be reorganizing and closed a lot of their stores and there was a lot of discussion on UHH about them and their service...

krgatlgm Loc: Las Vegas, Nv

A couple of months ago Ritz/Wolfe was said to be reorganizing and closed a lot of their stores and there was a lot of discussion on UHH about them and their service or lack thereof. Now they are supposedly going completely out of business according to this. What was the purpose of reorganizing if you are only going to go out of business anyway?
Note the five locations at the bottom of the flier that are coming back "under new management"

Flier that came in an e-mail
Flier that came in an e-mail...

tainkc Loc: Kansas City

Reminds me of those discount furniture stores.

lost_found

krgatlgm wrote:

A couple of months ago Ritz/Wolfe was said to be reorganizing and closed a lot of their stores and there was a lot of discussion on UHH about them and their service or lack thereof. Now they are supposedly going completely out of business according to this. What was the purpose of reorganizing if you are only going to go out of business anyway?
Note the five locations at the bottom of the flier that are coming back "under new management"

sound to me like some insider plucked the 5 most profitable locations for future business. wish them all the best otherwise we will run out of places to look at the new toys.

sinatraman Loc: Vero Beach Florida, Earth,alpha quaudrant

according to popphoto.com from a few days ago C+A marketing ( the same people who own the rights to Polaroid bought Ritz/wolf completely and plan to keep some if not most stores open

BHC Loc: Strawberry Valley, JF, USA

tainkc wrote:

Reminds me of those discount furniture stores.

Right. They increase the price by 50% and give you a 20% markdown. Let's see:
$100 item marked up 50% = $150 less 20% markdown = $120 bargain!
Sounds like a typical going-out-of-business sale.

lost_found

Mogul wrote:

tainkc wrote:

Reminds me of those discount furniture stores.

Right. They increase the price by 50% and give you a 20% markdown. Let's see:
$100 item marked up 50% = $150 less 20% markdown = $120 bargain!
Sounds like a typical going-out-of-business sale.

But extremely profitable for the store. I learned that lesson back in the early 80's. Run your going out of business sale for as long as the law allows. I ran mine for just under 3 months as I thought I had a new lease negotiated only to find out the landlord was not negotiating in good faith. I could have had 3 months more of record profits. People are always looking for the deal, real or imagined.

digiman Loc: Brooklyn, NY/Greenville, SC

krgatlgm wrote:

A couple of months ago Ritz/Wolfe was said to be reorganizing and closed a lot of their stores and there was a lot of discussion on UHH about them and their service or lack thereof. Now they are supposedly going completely out of business according to this. What was the purpose of reorganizing if you are only going to go out of business anyway?
Note the five locations at the bottom of the flier that are coming back "under new management"

Both stores are closed here in Greenville, South Carolina and have been on the verge of this decision for quite a few years. The company has been in bankruptcy for a very long time and this goes to show that they are doing what many other companies have done in the past: get rid of the staff that have been with the company for a while, restructure, new management, lower salaries, and the cycle continues. I worked for them a few years back and long time employees had told me that the former owner ran the company very well but when a relative, David Ritz bought out the company it has been poorly run. The restructuring of this company isn't going to help them, they will continue to be poorly run. Life goes on.

Xantoz Loc: Delaware

They re opened in King of Prussia Mall in Pa, USA under a different name Photo something. Cant remember exactly. There was a small sign in the window way down low that said a Ritz camera store. The guy that waited was pleasant and helpful. However way overpriced. Once I saw the Ritz name on the glass I knew I was out of there. Too bad I miss a good camera shop. There is an excellent one in Madison NJ. And Newark Delaware. Both real class acts.

harrimg

Went to their site, they are giving the discount off high retail and selling it at what other sites have all the time.

Hanksite Loc: Greenville, SC

Another example of the "business of going out of business"
management style. I drive from Greenville, SC to Asheville, NC to a very good indepentent camera shop. Like computer and electronics, so hard to find a shop with expertise.

harrimg

I go to Southern Photos in Melbourne FL., picked up my D800 there. All personnel are very knowledgeable of their products.

russelray Loc: La Mesa CA

krgatlgm wrote:

A couple of months ago Ritz/Wolfe was said to be reorganizing and closed a lot of their stores and there was a lot of discussion on UHH about them and their service or lack thereof. Now they are supposedly going completely out of business according to this. What was the purpose of reorganizing if you are only going to go out of business anyway?

Generally it's up to the creditors and the bankruptcy judge. If the creditors say no to reorganization, the only thing left is to sell all the assets to pay those creditors. That's what happened to Borders in 2011. There were 11 stores that were extremely profitable, including ours right here in San Diego's Mission Valley. They were almost sold to an independent chain in Texas but ultimately the creditors said no because there was not enough money involved for their tastes.

Any stores that come out of bankruptcy "under new management" are usually stores that were sold while in bankruptcy with approval from the BK judge and creditors.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

krgatlgm wrote:

A couple of months ago Ritz/Wolfe was said to be reorganizing and closed a lot of their stores and there was a lot of discussion on UHH about them and their service or lack thereof. Now they are supposedly going completely out of business according to this. What was the purpose of reorganizing if you are only going to go out of business anyway?
Note the five locations at the bottom of the flier that are coming back "under new management"

Yes, they are going out of business. And then they are opening up again on November 1. Go figure! Their sales didn't look all that appealing. If I had a local store, I go in and browse.

Jersey guy Loc: New Joisey

I can't tell you how many times I have seen carpet stores around here (NJ) go out of business for years on end...literally.

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

Jersey guy wrote:

I can't tell you how many times I have seen carpet stores around here (NJ) go out of business for years on end...literally.

Then you're probably familiar with electronics store in Manhattan "Going Out of Business." The City was trying to crack down on them a few years ago. I think they had better lawyers than the City. :D