Posts for Ticker ‘EBHI’

Twelve Major Brands That Will Disappear

A number of well-known brands disappeared in the last year in large part due to economic forces. Many of them were in the retail industry, led by Circuit City. ATA and Aloha airlines are gone. Gateway Computers has effectively disappeared after being bought by Acer. It still has a website, but the brand is no longer marketed.

As the recession deepens and stretches out quarter after quarter, more companies will close or will shut divisions. More brands will disappear because their parents firms fold or can no longer afford to support them. Other brands will be obliterated by mergers.

24/7 Wall St. examined 100 large brands that are facing troubled futures. The analysis included records for those brands that are public companies or part of public companies. We considered sales information, information from industry experts, and brand histories. We also looked at the level of competition in each brand’s market and the extent to which that competition is growing. We examined the likelihood that a brand could be sold or spun off in cases where parent companies are in financial trouble.

We have compiled a list of 12 brands that will we believe will not survive until the end of next year. Each brand and the major reasons for its demise are listed along with some of the public information 24/7 Wall St. examined. Read More »

Posted on: April 15, 2009 – 8:39 pm in Airlines, Apparel, Media, Uncategorized, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

This Week’s Biggest ‘GOING CONCERN’ Stocks (AVR, BBI, CROX, EBHI, MGM)

Will a 'going concern' note burn your money?

Will a 'going concern' note burn your money?

We are still in the midst of “annual report season” as companies have been submitting their 10-K filings with the SEC. Or in some cases delaying those filings.  There is one theme that has been much stronger during this recession than during any recent years, and that is the dreaded “GOING CONCERN” notice from auditors in the amount of companies which are well known.  And this year’s round of GOING CONCERN notes has a host of names that were formally great stocks.

A going concern is the ability of a company to continue to operate as things are now and not go out of business or have to liquidate its assets.  The out is of course that the company must be able to raise enough capital or exit certain operations to stay operational.   Here are some of the big names with the notes that have come out this week:
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Posted on: March 20, 2009 – 7:46 am in Accounting, Annual Report, Corporate Governance, , , , ,

The Black Friday Ten: Retailers Who May Not See 2009 (BONT)(DDS)(TLB)(PIR)(CPWM)(WSM)(CHS)(SKS)(EBHI)(RAD)

Angrybear_3A year ago, not many people would have thought Circuit City would be in bankruptcy now. Linens ‘n Things, Mervyn’s, Whitehall Jewelers and Steve & Barry’s have either shut down or are closing huge numbers of locations since they moved into Chapter 11.

The most astonishing fact about the retail industry now is that the environment has gotten much worse than it was when each of these businesses began to fail. Sales at stores across the country will be down this holiday season. Some analysts believe that the numbers will be as bad as for any fourth quarter in thirty-five years.

Adding to the problem of slow consumer spending brought on by the recession is an unprecedented liquidity crisis. Retailers who need access to capital for inventory, rent, and personnel costs are finding that it is nearly impossible to get access to funds without a pristine balance sheet and a history of substantial positive cash flow.

These troubles point to a number of other retail chains going out of business between now and early next year. Sales on Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which is considered the bellwether of holiday sales, will determine the fate of several companies which are now viewed as the weakest operators in the industry.

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Posted on: November 26, 2008 – 5:57 pm in Retail, , , , , , , , , ,