Anchor Blue to Liquidate 117 Stores
Anchor Blue announced it would be shuttering all 117 of its stores following news that the company was declaring bankruptcy.
Liquidation sales started Jan. 7 and will continue until all merchandise is gone. Gordon Brothers Group and Hilco Merchant Resources, both finance and liquidation specialists companies, announced Jan. 14 they will be handling the going-out-of-business sales for the Corona, Calif.–based retailer’s stores, with 84 located in California.
All store merchandise will be marked down 40 percent to 60 percent. The stores’ fixtures also will be sold. Anchor Blue store sales will run as long as necessary, but liquidators listed Jan. 21 as a tentative deadline. Anchor Blue will honor gift cards and returns until Jan. 21.
News of the retailer’s demise trickled through the grapevine a few weeks ago. Employees started posting comments on the company’s Facebook page, and on Jan. 4 they received word through e-mails and a conference call that the end was near.
The company had a long heritage in California. It started business in the mid-1970s as Miller’s Surplus and then Miller’s Outpost. In 1981, the company created its own brand, Anchor Blue. In 2009 it declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy and later emerged from bankruptcy that year, with private-investment firm Sun Capital Partners being the principal owner.
Thomas Sands, Anchor Blue’s then-chief executive, blamed the bankruptcy on the poor economy. “The unprecedented downturn and a related drop in consumer spending, especially in the teen-age market, had a severe impact on our financial performance,” he said in a company statement.—Andrew Asch
