Boaters World in Salisbury was completely bought out today by a Liquidator. Staff really do not know what's to come for their future. They could remain open to help sell off the current inventory. The company could be bought out and remain open, which is highly unlikely.Nevertheless, don't forget to put on that seat belt Ladies & Gentlemen because this is exactly what I have been warning you about. Perhaps you'll read about it in the Daily Times tomorrow or the day after? NOT!
16 comments:
No surprise there. Boaters World is owned by the same people as Ritz Camera and they just filed Bankruptcy.
Nothing is sacred in this market, my friends. Except perhaps Walmart, and even that is vulnerable.
A friend of mine went there to day to buy a gift card for her son and the staff would not sell her one so if you have a card for Boaters World or Ritz camera you need to use it .
Wow, how sad! I am afraid it is only going to get worse.
June 20 will be the last day that Boaters World is open for business. The Going Out of Business sale starts tomorrow (Friday, March 20). Since we're now owned by a liquidator, my medical and other benefits died at the close of business today. Let the fire sale and the ensuing madness begin.
I made a purchase yesterday and
the cashier told me they had been bought out by Ritz Cammera.
In the Salisbury area most boating is done for recreation (as opposed to Crisfield for example). Recreation always takes a serious hit during periods of economic recession. But one thing that adds insult to injury is the fact that when you attach the word "boat" to anything, it's price triples at least. I've been in that store to purchase electronics for my boat and had the opportunity to look around. C'mon. $29.00 flip-flops? A small pack of stainless steel screw you could get at Home Depot for $2.50 were $7.99 at Boaters World. Just a couple of examples. The point is that people are shopping around for the best prices. This is why Wal-Mart and McDonalds are showing growth and others are closing their doors.
In the first quarter Best Buy stock fell 2.6%. Nordstrom fell 1.3%.
Walmart gained .2%.
That doesn't set the world on fire but it helps make my point. Walmart is a business that's getting by during a recession because of low pricing.
Pack your grip , we are in for a real trip. This is a slow down-hill roll. Save your pennies , the south shall rise again!
We could double our police force and it's not going to help the crime that goes with these hard times.
I'm growing a garden for the first time in 35 years. Not
because I like to , because I have to. My Social Security isn't enough!
Joe , your headlines should have been " Breaking News: Salisbury
Is Liquidated"
So sad!
People aren't buying cars, who's going to buy a boat known as a "Hole in the water where my money goes?"
Sounds like someone didn't cover the spread during an NCAA tournament game and various "Old Country" businessmen are busting the joint out.
I put all the hvac equipment on the roof.
It was my understanding that boaters world was actually profitable and the only reason that they got auctioned to a liquidator was because of the huge amount of money that its parent company Ritz Camera owed to its creditors, Boaters world was the only thing that they held that was worth anything. The salisbury store was supposed to be one of the best selling stores that they had out of the 130 something. I read somewhere that the age of the digital camera was the death blow to ritz.
^^^ That's true. I work for one of those 130 stores. Ritz owed millions to Nikon, millions to Canon, Millions to Fuji. They used to make all their money on film processing, but now that everything is digital, people don't need to trust a camera store with their precious film, and just have their prints made for less at a big box store. The store associates, warehouse workers, and the CUSTOMERS are the ones who are really getting screwed by the close of Boater's World. David Ritz isn't selling his corporate jet or taking a pay cut. Jay Jolly, in charge of BW, is walking away with a huge severance package. Associates were given false hopes by corporate to stick it out because things would get better and we would be sold to someone who would keep the stores open, but with only 2 weeks from the date the sale of the stores was announced until the actual sale, there wasn't nearly enough time for investors to gather up the funding to buy! Three liquidators teamed up and bought us for 76 cents on the dollar, totaling around 35 million. The inventory in the warehouse and the stores is worth closer to $125 million, so you can see right there once the liquidator makes their first 35 million back, the rest is just gravy.
The liquidation sale at Boater's World is going to kill West Marine's spring and summer sales numbers, and I would expect a bankruptcy from them in the near future. A lot of vendors that Boater's World was dealing with will also go under as a result of this disaster. Thousands and thousands of people are losing their jobs, all at the hands of David Ritz and his staff and their poor business decisions. I worked at the store part time, and have a nice full time job. I won't miss the weekends I spent at the store, but I'll certainly miss my employee discount! Look for prices to drop in the near future.
PLEASE, if you come to the stores, don't ask us when prices will drop, when the final closing day will be, or ask us where you should shop now that your favorite store is closing. WE DON'T KNOW. And PLEASE don't ask us to mark anything down lower. We have NO CONTROL over pricing. All sales are final. Don't ask us to take something back -- WE CAN'T!
As a staunch supporter of BW over the last ten years, it saddens me to see it go under. The truth is, as one poster wrote - the prices were way out of line on many things. I purchased alight assembly during the so called sale. Once I got home I took the outer wrapping off and realized the bulb is broken...well, after be talked to in a very condenscending manner by a young man discovering his feminine side, I asked to speak with the manager. He called the manager and the decision is "you bought it, you own it!" So be very careful what you buy - if it is broken you still own the darn thing. And of course you will be spoken to like an idiot.
Hello, West Marine!
Can you blame us? We're all out of a job. We were suckered into staying with the company which was bought out by a liquidator and now we work for them! We can't leave or we can't collect unemployment, and with the job market looking as bad as it does right now, what else are we to do? Didn't you see the 40 signs hanging everywhere that say "ALL SALES FINAL - NO RETURNS OR EXCHANGES"? Yeah, I feel bad for ya that you bought something busted, but there's NOTHING we can do at the store level to help you out. Go in and ask for the form to contact and complain to the liquidator about the product, and there's a (slim) chance that they may refund your money. Please take into consideration how stressed WE are, as sales associates stuck working for people we don't want to work for. We lost our discount. We lost our ability to HELP the customers with their problems, and in another month or so when the stores all close, we're all losing our jobs. I'm sorry your $2 light bulb is broken. Go to Walmart and buy a replacement. Please don't make our lives MORE miserable than they already are by screaming at us because the liquidator who calls all the shots won't let us help you out.
Post a Comment