Bankruptcy Is Near for This Struggling Department-Store Company

One of the oddities of the so-called "retail apocalypse" is that no major department-store chain has filed for bankruptcy protection since the Great Recession. Profitability has been squeezed across the whole sector, but department stores have survived through a combination of deep cost cuts and asset sales.

However, for the worst-performing department-store operators, even the most heroic turnaround efforts are doomed to fail eventually. Bon-Ton Stores (NASDAQ: BONT), for one, could soon run out of options for avoiding bankruptcy. If it goes out of business, that could provide a vital sales boost for competitors including Macy's (NYSE: M) and J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP).

During the first half of 2017, Bon-Ton posted dreadful sales results, even by department-store standards. Comparable-store sales plunged 8.8% in the first quarter and 6.1% in the second quarter. For comparison, comp sales declined 3.6% at Macy's and 2.4% at J.C. Penney during the first half of the year.

Continue reading

Source: Fool.com