HOLY SHIT Filene's, Syms File for Bankruptcy, Plan to Close Doors (Sy Syms bites the dust)

[DainBramaged]

Syms Corp. and its affiliate, Filene’s Basement, filed for bankruptcy protection today and announced plans to liquidate, citing increased competition in the off-price retail industry.

The stores, which are perennial favorites of bargain brides and frugal fashionistas, received no bids to be taken over.

Both chains plan to capitalize on the upcoming holiday shopping rush to liquidate their inventories, said Gary Binkoski, interim chief financial officer, according to the court documents.

In total, 25 Syms locations and 21 Filene’s Basement stores will close, which is anticipated to be sometime in January after liquidation.

http://gma.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/filenes-syms-file-bankruptcy-plan-close-doors-154524829.html


According to the company’s last financial report, Filene’s Basement employed 1,555 people, while Sym’s employed 910 people


“an educated consumer is our best consumer” Yep Sy, they be shopping elsewhere.

http://youtu.be/apNBuMWj8OQ

[Sarah Ibarruri]

1. I got some very cute clothes at Sym's :) nt

[DainBramaged]

2. They are a fixture (now broken) in NYC metro

I will miss Sy and his daughter telling me I can save by shopping there.


They don't sell jeans.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

6. Me too. Where will I get my cute clothes now? nt

[firehorse]

3. wow, that means people can't even afford to shop at the low discount chains.

I recently bought a lucky brand top at the 99cent store reduced to $5.99.

[TBF]

4. Bought my work suits at Filene's Basement when I was young ... sorry

to see it close.

[Warpy]

5. Shit. One of the best cheap theater venues in Boston

was Filene's Basement, especially when they'd bring in the bride dresses. Hundreds of women, the savvy ones in leotards. would descend on the city and start trying stuff on in the aisles (only men had dressing rooms then). Catfights over prime stuff were rare, although they did happen. Mostly it was just loud and confused and wild and wonderful, my only happy shopping experience, ever.

When I first moved out here, friends marveled at the amount of designer label stuff I had. That was Filene's Basement. If a model had walked down an aisle with it or it had been in a store window, Filene's Basement was the next stop. I used to joke I never bought anything above ground.

So I'll shed a tear for them, at least for the main store where all the real craziness took place.

[leveymg]

7. Pretty soon there will be 2 retailers for clothes: Salvation Army and the De la Renta's on Mad Ave

Nothing in between - which is just as well, as the middle-class market is pretty much kaput in America, anyway.

[valerief]

8. I'm so old I used to work at Filene's Basement when Filene's owned it and there was only one of them

I remember the mad Saturday morning rushes for Marimekko dresses and Neiman Marcus dresses and the big bridal sales and massive coat sales and the old ladies who had to be asked not to strip naked in public when they tried on the bathing suits. It was just like in the old movies. People would swoop down and grab as many dresses off a rack as they could.

There was a homeless-looking guy who used to wander around the Basement. Legend had it that he owned half of Beacon Hill.

I was just telling someone the other day that I started illegally working there when I was fifteen. Can't do that nowadays.

[Kingofalldems]

9. The one in Montgomery County Md. had off duty cops at the front

door. They watched your every move and one even barked orders at me. I went to the manager who claimed customers felt safer with the cops there.