More than 110 companies have declared bankruptcy this year and blamed the COVID pandemic and/or economic shutdown at least in part for their demise. The roster of the dead and damaged includes organizations more diverse and less notable than headliners such as Hertz, J.C. Penney, and Chesapeake Energy.
- Lucky Brand Jeans, with more than 200 stores, ran out of luck on 3 July when it filed for bankruptcy. The company, owned by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners, owes more than $250 million to lenders and vendors. It will close at least 13 stores and is negotiating its sale for $140 million to a partnership of Authentic Brands and Simon Property Group, the U.S.’s largest mall owner and Lucky’s landlord in several locations.
- RavnAir, Alaska’s largest rural passenger airline, went bust in April and is the process of looking for a buyer to take over at least some of its service routes. Otherwise, the company’s assets will be placed in a trust and liquidated.
- Frontier Communications, a high-speed Internet service provider with 2.6 million subscribers in 29 states, declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April to reorganize more than $10 billion in debts. The company is selling its operations and assets in WA, OR, IA, and MT.
- Sugarloaf Craft Festivals, which organized 11 annual arts fairs around the U.S., fell victim to social distancing, as did Bounce For Fun, which offered more than 100 attractions, such as bounce houses, climbing walls, and water slides, for rent for events in the Dallas area. The company saw 100 percent of its bookings cancel this year and none rescheduling for 2021.
- Specialty’s Cafe & Bakery made lunch and snacks for thousands of downtown office workers in CA, IL, and WA. The shutdown left it without customers but with fixed costs of as much as $30,000 a month in some of its locations.
- The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 1 May. It was facing millions of dollars in damages after sexual abuse claims had been lodged. It lost members and, when social distancing shut down masses, there was nothing left in the collection plate.
- United Cannabis, a Colorado medical hemp company, laid off more than a third of its workers last fall as an oversupply of hemp sank prices. The company sought bankruptcy shelter on 20 April when it was unable to resolve a dispute with a creditor.
- Alpha Entertainment was just getting its XFL football league under way when social distancing orders shut down professional sports games. The cancellation left the company tens of millions of dollars in debt with no prospects for recovery. The company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy on 13 April.
TREND FORECAST: Presstitutes and politicians, from now until this time next year, will spread fear of a second virus wave hitting the nation by autumn. The more fear they spread, the further businesses will fall, the higher bankruptcies will rise, and the greater the number of people will be unemployed.
We are in the first stages of a global socioeconomic and geopolitical crises that will be recorded as the worst in modern history.