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Its been a rough few years for brick-and-mortar retailers. In 2024, numerous big-name companies shuttered or announced their intentions to shutter locations across the country, including Big Lots, Macys, CVS, LL Flooring, Walgreens, and Family Dollar. Now a discount retail chain with nearly a hundred stores has announced that it will close all of its locations. That retailer is Bargain Hunt, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month. Heres what you need to know about its bankruptcy and store closings: Why did Bargain Hunt file for bankruptcy? Interestingly, Bargain Hunt has not revealed specific reasons for filing for bankruptcy. Normally, struggling retailers who have gone down the same route will cite falling foot traffic, reduced consumer spending, increased competition, or inflationary pressures as the drivers behind the reason to file for bankruptcy, but so far, Bargain Hunt has not specified its reasons. However, a voluntary petition for bankruptcy that Bargain Hunt’s owner filed with the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Middle District of Tennessee on February 3 suggests the company is struggling. In that filing, Bargain Hunt’s parent company, Essex Technology Group LLC, said it currently had between 1,000 and 5,000 creditors. It also revealed that it had between $50,000,001 and $100 million in estimated liabilities, yet its assets were only between $10,000,001 and $50 million. This means that Bargain Hunt has more liabilities than assets and suggests that it may not have the means to pay all of its existing creditors. Which Bargain Hunt locations are closing? In a press release, Bargain Hunt announced that it will hold going-out-of-business sales at every remaining location. The company says it currently has 92 stores spread across 10 states. The state with the most Bargain Hunt stores is Tennessee, where the company is based. Other states with Bargain Hunt stores are Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Ohio, and South Carolina. A full list of all closing locations can be found on the website of Hilco Global, the firm handling Bargain Hunt’s liquidation. You can also use Bargain Hunt’s own online store locator tool to find your closest location. Bargain Hunt says that shoppers will be able to get up to 40% discounts on items in its remaining inventory, including apparel and shoes, toys, lawn and garden supplies, automotive, pet, home decor, and more. However, buyers should be aware that all sales are final. When are Bargain Hunt stores closing? All Bargain Hunt stores are in the process of closing down now. The company has not given a precise date when its stores will close for good, but it has stated that they are set to close by the end of February 2025. Will more retailers shut in 2025? Major retailers like Macys and Big Lots have already announced store closures for 2025. But those arent likely to be the end of it. In January, a report from Coresight Research suggested that up to 15,000 retail stores could be shuttered in 2025. In addition to Big Lots and Macys, other retailers have already announced their intention to shutter locations, including Walgreens and Party City, the latter of which is going out of business entirely. As for why so many retail locations may shut their doors in 2025, Coresight said a number of factors were involved, including inflation-weary customers pulling back on spending and increased competition from online retailers.
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E-Commerce
I knew when I was a child, like 5 years old, I knew I wanted to make beautiful things, says Helena Bian, founder and CEO of lighting company Harlowe, though it took some time to find her path. After school, Bian became a mechanical and electrical engineer, cutting her teeth at hardware companies like Dewalt, where she learned that the industry was dominated by men who didnt necessarily share her vision of creating beautiful things, and who would rather just focus on function. She daydreamed about making both until she founded Harlowe, a company that arguably makes some of the most beautiful gadgets you can find today. Bian had an idea for high-design photography and video lighting equipment thats both portable and functional. Noticing how creators are constantly on the go, ferrying huge suitcases with lighting equipment inside, Bian saw a need for gear that is small and easy to pack and travel with, which led her to prioritize portability in Harlowe’s design philosophy. [Photo: Harlowe] But portability alone wasn’t enoughshe needed an aesthetic that would attract those creators, so that her designs could become not only tools for work but also objects of lust. Today there are plenty of professional lighting products that are good and relatively inexpensive, but they all have the same bland, standard look, made of metal, plastic, and LEDs, usually all painted matte black. For Bian, however, functional doesnt mean bland or ugly, and, she says, beautiful doesn’t mean expensive. To be clear, Harlowes products are on the pricey side compared to the stuff you can buy from Amazon or AliExpress, but Bian says that they are made to last forever, using metal and leather, with precise manufacturing techniques. She expects her designs to last, just like old Leica or Hasselblad cameras have stayed alive for decades. [Photo: Harlowe] The process Harlowes in-house design process is led by Bian, who takes inspiration from vintage cameras. I want to make sure [our products are] not just something they buy for work but also something they buy because they love, Bian tells me, noting that shes observed creators who keep old photo gear around almost like their spirit animals. Even if theyre no longer used for production, she says these items are kept because theyre beautiful, and because they are something [people] cherish in their heart. Bian’s designs begin with hand-drawn sketches, from which her team creates 3D models and engineers the guts of the devices until they match her original vision. [Image: Harlowe] The selection of materials is carefully considered to add to an emotional connection with users, mixing aluminum, steel, and leather to provide a full sensory experience for anyone who sees, touches, and smells them. [Photo: Harlowe] Everything is done in-house, including the production itself, with backing from parent company AES Lighting Solutions, a Chinese work lighting corporation with 20 years in the industry. In the end, Bian’s vision is all about maintaining the human connection in Harlowe’s productsleveraging technology to improve functionality. It’s a carefully orchestrated mechanism that combines art, human instinct, and science to create a product thats as beautiful as it is durable and functional.
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E-Commerce
IRS employees involved in the 2025 tax season will not be allowed to accept a buyout offer from the Trump administration until after the taxpayer filing deadline, according to a letter sent Wednesday to IRS employees.The letter says that “critical filing season positions in Taxpayer Services, Information Technology and the Taxpayer Advocate Service are exempt” from the administration’s buyout plan until May 15. Taxpayers have until April 15 to file their taxes unless they are granted an extension.Union leaders and worker advocates have criticized the proposal and question whether the government will honor any buyout contract.The news comes after President Donald Trump announced a plan to offer buyouts to federal employees through a “deferred resignation program” to quickly reduce the government workforce. The program deadline is February 6, and administration officials said employees who accept will be able to stop working while still collecting a paycheck until September 30.The buyouts, sent to roughly 2.3 million workers, are for all full-time federal employees with some exemptions, including military personnel, employees of the U.S. Postal Service, and positions related to immigration enforcement. It’s unclear if IRS workers who accept the buyout would only receive five months of pay instead or if they would also get a full eight months.The federal government employed more than three million people as of November, accounting for nearly 1.9% of the nation’s entire civilian workforce, according to the Pew Research Center.Doreen Greenwald, president of the National Treasury Employees Union, has advised all federal workers not to accept the offer, which she says is dubious.“This is not a good deal for them,” Greenwald told the Associated Press. “If you sign this document and then later change your mind, you are left without any power to fight back.”Since federal employees are working under what is called a continuing resolution that keeps the government funded until Marchand the Anti-Deficiency Act prohibits agencies from spending more money than is actually appropriated funding for the buyout plan “has not been approved,” Greenwald said.She added: “I do not recommend people sign the document. They need to have control of their own career, and this document does not give it to them.”The NTEU union represents roughly 150,000 employees in 37 departments and agencies.“This country needs skilled, experienced federal employees,” she said. “We are urging people not to take this deal because it will damage the services to the American people and it will harm the federal employees who have dedicated themselves and their career to serving.”January 27 is the official start date of the 2025 tax season and the IRS expects more than 140 million tax returns to be filed by the April 15 deadline.“What most people don’t realize is that 85% of the federal workforce works outside of D.C.,” she said. “They’re your neighbors, your family, your friends. And they deliver key services for the American people.” Fatima Hussein, Associated Press
Category:
E-Commerce
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