Linens ‘n things is expected to file for bankruptcy on Tuesday. If you have Linens ‘n Things Gift Cards use them asap before the become obsolete.
Linda Young – AHN Editor
New York, NY (AHN) – The sluggish economy is taking a toll on home retailer Linens ‘n Things Inc., which is expected to file for bankruptcy court protection by Tuesday.
Consumers have less money to spend and that is creating problems for the nation’s retailers. According to the Wall Street Journal, after the housing crisis slowed sales of home-furnishings a buyout allowed Linens to go on when Apollo Management LP acquired it for $1.3 billion in February 2006. A bankruptcy would turn that into the largest buyout to go bust since the credit crisis last summer. If Linens files for bankruptcy it would also be one of the first major retailers to go under during this slowing economy, MarketWatch reported Friday.
Company officials are scheduled to meet with its lenders and largest vendors on Monday in a last ditch effort to work out agreements that would allow it to stay out of bankruptcy, the Wall Street Journal reports.
New Jersey-based Linens lost $242 million on sales of $2.79 billion in 2007 and it lost $154 million in 2006, according to Walls Street Journal reports.
In March, the company had reduced inventory purchases and store staffing to lower its costs, according to MarketWatch reports.. It has 589 stores in 47 states and seven provinces across the U.S. and Canada.
Thanks gues77 for the heads up.
does that mean liquidation sales? I know we can all use the discounts on the products that they sell, no?
This is really weird. The new store JUST opened here in Brampton 2 weeks ago.
Anyway, bankruptcy protection is not like closing down. They should still be in business for couple of years. If everyone rush to redeem their gift cards, they might be forced out of business sooner.
lol this is a good point
is that really all you people think of….gift cards….if it shut down thousands of people would lose their jobs
assholes
wow.
that was unnecessary!
Funny how “use your gift cards ASAP” to some of you meant redeem them. Actually if card holders came in and bought the company would probably get a good boost.
Also in all the notes I have seen online no one is pointing towards the real problem, the economy!
Gift cards are held as a liability on the books of a business, when the cards are sold the funds used to buy the cards are held in an account waiting to be redeemed. To make money (other than a load fee perhaps) Store owners hope that either the person will spend over and above what their gift card is issued for or will let it expire and they can keep that money or what is left after fees (though more and more Provinces are banning expiration dates on gift cards).
Bel is exactly right. I don’t know who this “codass” person is, but that comment was most definitely not required. When I get a giftcard, I almost always end up spending way more because it’s like I got the first $25/$50/$100/however much the card is worth free.
On another note though…I just bought a new house so I was really hoping for some liquidation sales!
LNT gift cards have NO expiry date, as an employee, would much rather see us make it through this than to be doing cleanup after the “you no longer have a job sale” sorry.
Just because a company files for bankruptcy doesn’t mean, they won’t honor your gift cards. It’s simply too soon to be sure that the cards will become void. Like the sharper image example, they are accepting them with some stipulations attached. By all means, spend your cards and don’t hang on to them.I had 150 to LNT, and I spent every cent on it. I went .23 cents over. There’s more information on gift card bankruptcy on savvywallet.com
The truth about gift cards is that the sooner you spend them the bigger the boost to the companies sales per store they are redeemed at. I know we could use the sales, so redeem away!
I have to say, my one online experience with L&T wasn’t a good one.
I actually had purchased a deal about 2 years ago through this site. They discontinued 1 of the 3 things in the combined deal, and said “tough” to me when I called to see when I’d get the last item of the bundle.
Uh. Okay. Way to lose a client. I could have sent the other two items back at my expense. Err, no.
No wonder they are struggling. Just my two cents.
I used to work for linens n things and I knew when they told us here in canada that the states had plunging sales there was going to be a problem. I worked there for 5 years, and they are a great company, but their marketing and product quality is brutal. I welcome the opening of the first Bed Bath and Beyond in Canada
Just to let you know, as a current Canadian Linens n Things employee, we were advised yesterday in a communication from the CEO that there are NO plans to close any Canadian Linens n Things stores. The Canadian stores have been extremely profitable since opening. “The significant deterioration in the mortgage, housing and credit markets and the resulting impact on the retail marketplace, particularly the home sector, has overwhelmed the operating and merchandising improvements that we have made over the past two years. The company’s Canadian stores, which are among the strongest performers in the chain, are not included in the filing.” There are no plans for a bankruptcy filing in Canada, Linens Holding said. Quoted directly from Linens n THings CEO.
You can read the complete press release here http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/home/news/sections/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsLang=en&newsId=20080502005349
I would hope that Canadian shoppers continue to support Linens and Things here in Canada, by shopping online at http://www.canada.lnt.com and in our stores!
“Linens ‘n Things has 589 stores in the US and Canada. Its Canadian outlets are performing well and are not included in the bankruptcy protection application, the retailer said.”
Have you ever heard a business say one thing and the exact opposite happens a little time later?
I wonder if it is just a matter of time till this one goes under also.
i work at a canadian lnt and we “comp” everyday. meaning we beat the sales of the same day last year. i can say for sure that we are doing excellent. people come in worried for their gift cards all the time. but no canadian stores are closing and are not included in the filing of bankruptcy protection.
Good thing I invested my life savings and my kids college funds into linens-n-things gift cards and stock! My furniture is going to look much nicer after this. Maybe I will invest in GM, bet you they’re pretty cheap.
P.S.
This reminds me of that time I tried Nortel, and bought an HD/DVD player…Oh Well!
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