Humor: The Worst

’nuff said.

25% of US Retailers May Go Bust

Don’t even think we’re out of the woods yet. The Wall St Journal reports:

Analysts estimate that from about 10% to 26% of all retailers are in financial distress and in danger of filing for Chapter 11. AlixPartners LLP, a Michigan-based turnaround consulting firm, estimates that 25.8% of 182 large retailers it tracks are at significant risk of filing for bankruptcy or facing financial distress in 2009 or 2010.

Other retailers are saying they will trim inventory and reduce the number of suppliers. That, in turn, will cause a ripple effect, prompting a number of weaker manufacturers, small brands and underfunded fashion labels to fail. New retail formats and concepts stores are likely to be curtailed in the coming year.

“We will have a lot fewer stores by the middle of 2009,” says Nancy Koehn, professor of business administration at Harvard Business School. “It’s happening very, very quickly because of the financial crisis and the recession.”

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