The Container Store Files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy
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The Container Store has filed for bankruptcy as the latest of several major retail chains to make that decision, following similar announcements from Party City, Big Lots, True Value, and Rite Aid.
The storage and organizational brand, which has 102 locations, is expected to remain open through the approximately 35-day process to get Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, CNN reported.
The company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Sunday, official documents revealed.
Founded in 1978, the Texas-based company said in a statement that filing for bankruptcy will help it “bolster its financial position, fuel growth initiatives, and drive enhanced long-term profitability.”
According to court documents, the company holds about $230 million in debt and has just $11.8 million in cash on hand, but is set to receive $40 million in new financing.
The news comes on the heels of reports that decor and costume retailer Party City is set to close all of its locations in February 2025, after the company filed for bankruptcy in January 2023 and exited it in September 2023.
“It’s really important for you to know that we’ve done everything possible that we could to try to avoid this outcome,” Party City CEO Barry Litwin reportedly said during a Friday video call viewed by CNN. “Unfortunately, it’s necessary to commence a winddown process immediately.”
Discount retailer Big Lots is also preparing to shut down all of its stores after filing for bankruptcy and closing over 400 stores this year, Breitbart News reported Friday.
In October, major hardware supplier True Value — which has 4,500 locations across the U.S. and internationally — also initiated Chapter 11 bankruptcy procedures and reportedly entered into an agreement to sell all of its operations to a rival chain, Do it Best Corp.
“After a thorough evaluation of strategic alternatives, we determined that the sale of our business was the path forward to maximize value and best serve our retail partners and other stakeholders into the future,” True Value CEO Chris Kempa said in a press release.
Since pharmacy and convenience store chain Rite Aid filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October 2023, 2,000 stores became approximately 1,100 by August 2024.
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