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Radio Shack has
already closed its store at 16036 S. Harlem Ave. in Tinley Park.
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Southland Savvy
Electronics retailer Radio Shack filed for bankruptcy earlier this month and announced that it would close hundreds of stores across the country after holding liquidation sales, including several in the south suburbs.
It turns out at least three of the chain's local stores are
not closing.
Employees at the Frankfort, Palos Heights and Lansing Radio
Shack stores said it was business as usual at their locations, at least for the
time being.
A worker at the Lansing store at 16915 S. Torrence Ave. said
his store had been holding a clearance sale in advance of it closing, but then
those sales ended and new merchandise started coming in to the store.
"As of now, we're staying open, but who knows what may
happen," said the worker who asked to remain anonymous.
The Texas-based retailer filed for Chapter 11
bankruptcy reorganization and said it planned to sell from 1,500 to 2,400 of
its stores to its largest shareholder, investment firm Standard General. It
plans to close the remainder of its 4,000 locations.
The company, which was founded more than 90 years ago, also
plans to open Sprint stores-in-a-store in up to as many as 1,750 of the Radio
Shack locations that stay open.
In addition to the stores now holding liquidation sales, the
chain recently closed several locations in the south suburbs including its
Tinley Park, Homewood, South Holland and Matteson stores.
Stores slated for closing in the south suburbs include
locations in Chicago's Beverly community, Burbank, Dolton, Chicago Heights,
Bourbonnais, Joliet, Country Club Hills, Crestwood and Bolingbrook. Also
closing is its store in Munster in northwest Indiana.
Also included in the closing is the Oak Lawn store at 4819
W. 95th St. That store reopened in August 2012 after it was seriously damaged
in a massive fire in November 2010 that also knocked out Eva's Bridal and Miss
Fantasia Boutique.
“Stores that are
closing are expected to sell remaining inventory,” the company said in a news
release. Everything is available including shelving and office fixtures and
furniture.
Employees at the closing stores said they were not given a
timetable for the liquidation sale, which is being handled by Northbrook-based
Hilco Merchant Resources along with Gordon Brothers Group and Tiger Capital
Group.
Sleepy's opens in Oak
Lawn
New York-based mattress retailer Sleepy's, which has been on
a major expansion into the Chicago marketplace for more than a year, opened a
new store in mid-December at 11010 S. Cicero Ave. in Oak Lawn, said Peter
Hooper, a mattress professional at the store.
The company, which got its start in 1931 in Brooklyn, opened
its first Chicago-area store in June 2013 in Evergreen Park.
For more information, call the store at 708-423-5320.
H&M opens in
Southlake Mall
H&M opened its newest story last week at
Southlake Mall in Merrillville in northwest Indiana.
Storm pays off for
Art Van Furniture customers
Turns out that anybody who bought furniture at an Art Van
Furniture store on Jan. 1,2,3 and 17 are big winners.
The Michigan-based retailer held a "Let it Snow"
promotion that customers on those dates would be reimbursed for their purchases
if more than three inches of snow fell in Chicago on Sunday, Feb. 1.
Mother Nature cooperated and dropped more than 19 inches of
snow, which means about 2,000 people who shopped at stores in Bedford Park,
Orland Park, Batavia, Chicago and Bolingbrook will be notified by Art Van
Furniture that reimbursements will be coming. Art Van will reimburse the cost
of the furniture or mattresses along with sales tax and delivery charges.
The tab will be more than $2 million, the company said in a
news release.
"We threw out the ultimate pass to our guests, the
chance to receive their purchases for free, and thousands of Art Van Furniture
shoppers caught these incredible furniture and mattress savings," said Art
Van Elslander, founder and chairman of Art Van Furniture. "It's a big win
for fans of our stores who found a great reason to cheer, instead of jeer,
Sunday's snowstorm."
The company held similar promotions in Toledo and Fort Wayne
and has to pay out even more as those cities also surpassed the three-inch threshold.
If
you see a new business in town or wonder what happened to an old favorite, drop
me a line at bobbong@hotmail.com.
You
can also catch up on Comings & Goings in other parts of the Southland at www.southlandsavvy.blogspot.com
