Bradlees Is Going Out of Business

BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) â€” Discount retailer Bradlees Inc. confirmed Tuesday that it will go out of business, putting almost 10,000 people out of work. <br><br>The Braintree-based company announced it has

Wednesday, December 27th 2000, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

BRAINTREE, Mass. (AP) â€” Discount retailer Bradlees Inc. confirmed Tuesday that it will go out of business, putting almost 10,000 people out of work.

The Braintree-based company announced it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in New York and agreed to sell its remaining inventory to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC.

The company expected all of its 105 stores to close within eight weeks, company spokesman Fred McGrail said. A phaseout of its headquarters and distribution functions will begin this week.

The company expects to keep its sales staff through this process, and a bankruptcy court judge has approved severance payments, which will be at least two weeks pay, McGrail said.

The company said it filed for bankruptcy protection because of a general economic downturn, including rising interest rates and higher gas and heating oil prices, that have left customers with less disposable income.

The company also said new competition, unseasonable weather in the first half of the year, and the tightening of trade credit contributed to its inability to operate profitably.

Bradlees operates 105 stores and three distribution centers in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Maine, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Bradlees was founded in New London, Conn., in 1958. It went public in 1992 and successfully emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February 1999.

The Nasdaq Stock Market suspended trading in Bradlees stock Tuesday. It closed at 21.88 cents.

Eric Beder, an equity analyst at Ladenburg, Thallman & Co. Inc., a New York investment bank, said last week that Bradlees' best asset is its well-located stores, which will be snapped up by other chains. He said many of those stores would likely rehire Bradlees employees.