Fortunoff’s Liquidating
I was deeply saddened to learn that there will be no work-out process for Fortunoff’s, the 87 year old local jewelry and department store.
With no ready Buyer showing up, and unable to arrange fresh credit in this environment, the company is liquidating this week. They join an increasing list of stores that found themselves in the same unfortunate situation: Bombay & Co. Circuit City, Home Depot’s Expo Design Center, KB Toys, Steve and Barry’s, National Wholesale Liquidators, and Linens ‘n Things
When a big corporate chain goes belly up, one hardly thinks about it. With the family-owned Fortunoff’s as a local institution, I find it much sadder than the usual retail bankruptcy. One of my neighbors works (worked) there. When I was kid, my mother would work there during the Christmas season when Real Estate was slow.
Half of the stuff in our house — two area rugs, living room furniture, Weber grill, bedroom linens, glassware, coffeemaker, curtains, vacuum, lamps, and a slew of Mrs. BP’s jewelery are all from Fortunoff’s. Over a decade and a half of marriage I’ve bought pearl necklaces, diamond earrings, bracelets, etc. They were always reasonably priced, good selection, great sales help.
Its terribly sad.
I try to look at the economic data dispassionately; we tend to ignore the real world stories beneath much of the headlines. It never hurts to recall every now and again that there are real human tragedies occurring in the economic maelstrom . . .
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See Also:
Final sales at Fortunoff begins Thursday
ELLEN YAN AND EMI ENDO
Newsday, February 25, 2009
http://www.newsday.com/services/newspaper/printedition/wednesday/business/ny-bzfort256048594feb25,0,6599189.story
Judge OK’s Fortunoff sale, liquidations to begin
Emily Chasan and Phil Wahba
Reuters, Feb 24, 2009 7:22pm
http://www.reuters.com/article/mergersNews/idUSN2443854820090225
Fortunoff Bankruptcy Wipes Out Gift Cards
Jon Hood
ConsumerAffairs.com, February 24, 2009
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2009/02/fortunoff_bkprt.html
February 25th, 2009 at 6:55 am
Oh but save worthless banks, because we (the monied class), find it a lot easier to have other less fortunate people lose there money.
February 25th, 2009 at 7:01 am
Fortunoff had too much help from the government, that is why they went out of business.
You kids! Get away from the slushie machine!!
February 25th, 2009 at 7:46 am
A formerly great NY institution gone. Sad…………….
February 25th, 2009 at 7:50 am
maybe if more peep understood that they had a legitimate option, contra the current MutFund-Industrial Complex, that was Funding real Merchants, as opposed to the Roll-up/Retailer ‘Kings’ populating the S&P500, and de-populating the variety extant in Marketplace–Future Headlines won’t be carrying News of the demise the ‘next’ Fortunoff’s to go OOB..
February 25th, 2009 at 7:56 am
When I was a kid, before my siblings arrived on the scene, my mother would take me there with her. We’d take the Liberty Ave el over to the Livonia Ave store in East New York. These were rare trips, only when they had the spare cash to splurge.
February 25th, 2009 at 7:59 am
Yes, all of us are seeing more and more examples of this everyday…on my way to the salt mine, there is a pizza place that opened for about 3 months and is now closed about 3 months…still has all the furniture (walls are all glass) and looks like all that is needed is for the owner to open the door.
Uptick yesterday was interesting…look at Japan and the horrid numbers which if you haven’t seen are explained by the NYT here…
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/26/business/worldbusiness/26yen.html?_r=1&ref=business
but the export/import contraction around the world is even more disturbing….
http://www.rttnews.com/CorpInfo/EconomicCalendar.aspx
Germany and the UK awful, as well as industrial orders for the Eurozone and even housing starts in France..
We’ll see…but like others commenting this morning..there seemed to be an awful lot of glee for one day’s advancement….I think I’ll just watch and wait awhile…
I do wonder if there has been at least a short term top in gold prices here…
February 25th, 2009 at 8:01 am
I, too, have fond memories of family shopping trips to Fortunoff’s. I am sad that so many landmarks of my early years are evaporating.
February 25th, 2009 at 8:04 am
Yes I walked passed their shuttered storefront on 57th, I think, on Saturday on my way to lunch. Very sad. It was a very distinctive ambience. I think the other thing that’s getting missed in this is the number of small businesses closing up which is leaving empty storefronts on the main streets of small towns a bit like missing teeth which is what the Fortunoff store reminded me of. BR I can only say to you and the others here…. go and buy a new car or something…create your own little stimulus…..I bought a very nice, very expensive, but reduced of course, new overcoat on Saturday so I’m doing my bit.
February 25th, 2009 at 8:43 am
I have my eye on quite a few stimuli — durable goods, toys, and other purchases.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:06 am
BinTN, buy it while its cheap!
February 25th, 2009 at 9:19 am
I knew the family, growing up on LI, nice people.
should’ve waited on the backyard furniture I bought last summer at full price…oh well.
February 25th, 2009 at 9:36 am
@Justin:
Let me have a Mexican place with a Pacifico or two…and I would weigh 300 pounds….!
Help me out again, folks…read through this today
http://money.cnn.com/2009/02/25/news/economy/debt.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2009022504
The gravity-defying debt problem
the author quotes that:
“But if rising government debt is worrisome, at least it comes off a relatively low base. U.S. public sector debt was 38% of gross domestic product in 2008, a number that compares favorably to most other developed countries.”
But I think the total government d/gdp in 2008 was more in the range of 70%…:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_public_debt
End of
Fiscal Year US Gross Debt
USD billions[18] US Gross Debt as % of GDP[21]
1910 2.6
1920 25.9
1930 16.2
1940 43.0 52.4
1950 257.4 94.1
1960 290.2 56.1
1970 389.2 37.6
1980 930.2 33.3
1990 3,233 55.9
2000 5,674 58
2005 7,933 64.6
2007 9,008 65.5
2008 10,699.8[22] 74.6 (EST)
Or as the internet encyclopedia suggests 74.6%….
Not an economist, but I have been seeing this very small number bandied about lately…
Any ideas?
February 25th, 2009 at 9:44 am
Bruce,
think U-3 v. U-6 v. Williams’ Shadow Stats…
see: http://www.icerocket.com/search?tab=web&fr=h&q=Edward+Bernays
http://www.icerocket.com/search?tab=web&lng=&q=disinfo+agitprop+propaganda
might help..
February 25th, 2009 at 9:57 am
It’s where we bought our Wedding Rings, Very sad.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:12 am
We bought our rings there as well and all of our outdoor furniture. Great service and nice store. We’ll miss it.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Barry Ritholtz Says:
February 25th, 2009 at 8:43 am
I have my eye on quite a few stimuli — durable goods, toys, and other purchases.
…….Well you can probably afford it from all this shorting your doing…..How about a knockout silver fox for her indoors?
February 25th, 2009 at 10:38 am
Right. Not unlike when Volcker jacked up interest rates to almost 20% in the early 1980s which caused bankruptcies to soar and unemployment went north of 10%. Thousands of small businesses and farmers lost not just their property, but their homes, their jobs and their self-worth.
But you praised Volcker because he had the courage to ignore politics and take the severe action he did to whip inflation. It was for the greater good of society. It’s ok thousands of lives were destroyed because society as a whole is better off.
There’s way too much retail capacity. Why isn’t it a good thing that the malinvestmnet is being wrung from the system and ultimately re-allocated to better, more efficient use? Won’t society be better off if capital is allocated to where it is treated best?
I guess your perspective changes when you see actual lives affected.
February 25th, 2009 at 10:42 am
Bruce in Tn Says:
February 25th, 2009 at 9:36 am
2008 10,699.8[22] 74.6 (EST)
Bruce…I thought you said it was over 80% of GDP the other day when I said it was around 70%……In 1945 it was around 120% I believe…… I read an interesting piece on federal spending as a % of GDP this morning…..Apparently it’s hovered around 21% for for 50 years in good times and bad….Maxed over this period at around 23% and minned for all you Clinton fans at around 18%……Tax receipts have hovered around 18%……we borrowed the difference…..hence the 11 trillion…..Forecast it’s going to shift to around 23% for a few years….and tax take is going to have to go to around 20-21% to make borrowing costs sustainable…..look out all you millionaires……It puts a lot of our debt and spending problems in perspective…I’ll see if I can find the link
February 25th, 2009 at 10:53 am
@Otto:
I did..2009 (not 2008)…11/13.7 (gdp)..is 80.29%…
I am wondering where the smaller number comes from…
and please don’t say “look out all you millionaires”…it makes you look jealous and small…I wish in reality all of us were millionaires…I certainly wouldn’t trade places with Buffett…
February 25th, 2009 at 11:07 am
Bruce N Tennessee Says:
February 25th, 2009 at 10:53 am
and please don’t say “look out all you millionaires”…it makes you look jealous and small
……Lighten up for godsake…..just my feeble attempt at humor…. as it happens I crossed that bar long ago……And I’d love to trade places with Buffett although I think I’d have a bit more fun.