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New year is shaping up as 'very, very ugly' for some well-known brands
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Shoppers won't be picking up ornate lamps from the Bombay Co. in the coming year. Or investing with Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns. No flying to Hawaii on Aloha Airlines or buying cheap tickets on Skybus.
All those names vanished this past year, victims of the economy. Experts say 2009 could mark the end of even more well-known brands as the now year-long recession puts more companies on life support.
"I think 2009 is going to be a bloodbath," said Scott Testa, a marketing professor at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia. "I think it's going to be very, very ugly."
Travelers bid adieu to some airlines in 2008 as fuel prices soared and consumer spending on such extras as travel plunged. Aloha, ATA, Skybus and Champion Air all grounded their planes.
With sales and profits dropping and lenders leery of granting new credit, a number of retailers failed in 2008. Home goods seller Linens 'N Things began liquidating its stores after filing in May for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Apparel chain Steve & Barry's did the same later in the year. Specialty retailer Sharper Image Corp. also vanished. KB Toys is in the midst of liquidating its more than 400 stores.
Circuit City Stores Inc., the nation's second-biggest electronics retailer, is closing more than 150 stores and laying off thousands of employees as it attempts to restructure under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
Of all the brands to disappear in 2008, Testa said, consumers may miss department store chain Mervyns the most since so many shoppers had a connection to the store.
"That's a brand that's been around for a very long time," he said.
Mervyns, which had been operating for five decades, said in October that it would have to liquidate its stores after filing for bankruptcy protection this summer.
The vanishing acts weren't just in the United States. British retailer Woolworths Group PLC collapsed late this year after it was unable to sell its 800-store business that was nearly 100 years old.
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