california's last local clothing department store to file bankruptcy... (Fresno: 2011, broker)

[Axxlrod]

Good riddance. That store is horrible. The one in santa maria is a joke. Last ime I was in there, I was the only person speaking english.

[the city]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

Maybe, maybe not.

The word over here is that there are still two potential buyers besides the liquidators talking with Gottschalks. I have no idea who they are or if they want the whole company or just select stores.

I personally don't expect the company will emerge intact under the current name. But it is possible a major chunk could picked up by a single buyer (or two) with the rest liquidated.

Also possible that other chains will chose to wait until after liquidation and try to negotiate for the locations they want.

The deadline for a sale or the move to liquidate is March 30. So we will know in the next few weeks.

Gottschalks did not take up the Spanish El Corte Ingles and China deal because all their products would have to be made in china. And many reports say that no one else will pop up by then.

I am guessing the chain will be broken up and be sold to other chains. Macy's and JcPenney's is a good guess on who will take a majority of the stores. Just like how Mervyn's was replaced by Kohl's and Forever 21 stores.

[FresnoFacts]

Originally Posted by the city

Gottschalks did not take up the Spanish El Corte Ingles and China deal because all their products would have to be made in china. And many reports say that no one else will pop up by then.

I am guessing the chain will be broken up and be sold to other chains. Macy's and JcPenney's is a good guess on who will take a majority of the stores. Just like how Mervyn's was replaced by Kohl's and Forever 21 stores.

No they did not take the China deal. But your reason is wrong. It was the Chinese company, Everbright, that pulled out of the deal, not Gottschalks.

But I am talking about very recent info (last 2 weeks) that the company has been talking to some buyers besides the liquidators. I don't know if anything will come out of that.

The liquidators will serve as the "stalking horse" bid, setting the minimum price that all other interested parties will have to beat at the auction in a few weeks. So the end of this month we will know how interested others have been and for what parts.

The hard part right now is trying to guess what will happen. There are some appealing store locations, but companies may have a hard time lining up financing to buy all or part of Gottschalks.

Also, most of the stores are leased. Some of the shopping centers have leases with other stores that are tied to Gottschalks or a similiar or higher end retailer being in the space. That may limit what can happen at some sites. It will depend on what people feel can be renegotiated.

[FresnoFacts]

As I said, there are still some talks going on with other buyers. The media picked up the info today and ran the story this afternoon. And no I'm not one of the two people they talked with.

3/19/2009 11:27 PM ET (RTTNews) Regional department store chain Gottschalks Inc. (GOTTQ.PK: News ), which filed for bankruptcy protection in January, is in talks with three potential buyers who would continue to run the company's business, Bloomberg reported Thursday, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.

According to the Bloomberg report, the three potential buyers, namely, California-based private equity firm Golden Gate Capital Corp., Illinois-based real estate development company GK Development Inc. and Spanish retailer El Corte Ingles, will retain some of Gottschalks' locations.

The three companies reportedly signed confidentially agreements that allow them to view Gottschalks' financial records. However, the companies have not committed to bid in the auction scheduled for March 30, the report noted.

More at: RTTNews - Latest Earnings,Upcoming Earnings, Pos Pre Announcements, Pos Pre Announcements , Positive Surprises, Negative Surprises, Hot Stocks, Stock Split Calendar, Stock Buybacks, Dividends, Negative, Positive PreAnnouncements,Surprises ....

[eureka1]

I hope to God Gottschalk's finds some way of surviving. I will literally have NO place to buy clothes if they fold. Mervyn's is already gone (they sucked anyway) and our mall is a General Growth Property,and THEY have filed for bankruptcy. There may be a caravan of us driving 21/2 hours over 299 to Redding and the Macy's (ugh!) if this keeps up. I thought I read a few years ago that G's had been bought by a Spanish conglomerate. What happened to them?

[FresnoFacts]

Gottschalks bought the Harris chain in Southern California from El Corte Ingles. As part of the deal El Corte Ingles had a minority stake in Gottschalks.

But as I posted above El Corte Ingles is now one of the companies currently talking with Gottschalks.

[the city]

Originally Posted by FresnoFacts

Gottschalks bought the Harris chain in Southern California from El Corte Ingles. As part of the deal El Corte Ingles had a minority stake in Gottschalks.

But as I posted above El Corte Ingles is now one of the companies currently talking with Gottschalks.

Well, the most updated news is that Gottschalks has 2 liquidators looking into the company and one chines company that wants to keep them in business-Shangdong.

Does Gottschalks sell to the chinese company or do they liquidate? Two more days left and we'll know!! place ur bets folks. im guessing they will liquidate since they have wanted to end it for a while now.

im guessing macy's is going to take over the san luis obispo, visalia, palmdale, and victorville locations. i dont think they will take the chico, merced, or eureka location.

[FresnoFacts]

Reuters is reporting that the chain will be liquidated. But nothing is official until a judge approves today's auction results on Wednesday.
Department store chain Gottschalks to liquidate | Reuters

The rumor around this area all day has been that the bidding went higher than expected. The media reports now seem to confirm that.

Reuters says:

The liquidator group has agreed to guarantee 98 percent of the cost of the company's inventory, Gottlieb said. The funds can eventually be used to repay the chain's creditors.
The liquidators had originally offered to pay 85 percent of the cost of inventory in their original "stalking horse" bid, but increased their bid during the auction, Gottlieb said.
The winning bid represented an increase worth about $14 million from the original bid, Gottlieb said.

[the city]

Alright, it's finally confirmed. Liquidation starts this Thursday.

I am betting Wal-Mart, JcPenney,s, Target, and Macy's will be taking most of the locations.

[Adriatica]

Guess I better use that gift card I have lying around...

I'm sad to see them go. If you grew up in Fresno, they are really quite an institution.