Younkers in the Fox River Mall.(Photo: File)
Wednesday’s news that the entire Bon-Ton Stores chain is likely heading for liquidation doesn’t mean much in the Fox Cities.
Bon-Ton is the parent company of Younkers, and the Younkers store in the Fox River Mall was already on its way out.
Its last day, according to the liquidation company’s sales staff, will be April 29.
Much of the store’s merchandise is already cleared out. What’s left is now discounted by 75 to 90 percent off and fixtures are 50 percent off.
The national news, however, is not good for the remaining Bon-Ton department stores, including Bay Park Square’s Younkers and Younkers Furniture Gallery in Ashwaubenon and Milwaukee’s beloved Boston Store.
Besides Younkers and Boston Store, Bon-Ton’s other department stores include Bergner’s, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman and Herberger’s. Bon-Ton filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, and it has about 250 stores.
Bon-Ton’s successful bidder Wednesday was a partnership group of debt holders and two liquidation firms, Great American Group and Tiger Capital Group.
The Younkers building at the Fox River Mall is not owned by the mall or by Younkers, but rather by a third party, the Bloch Family 2005 Partnership. Bon-Ton leased the building from the partnership.
On Thursday, the partnership’s representative, Andy Goldberg, said he had nothing to announce so far on the Fox River Mall store’s future.
“I’m always trying to put a positive spin on things,” he said. “Now that you have a liquidator closing all of the Bon-Ton stores, perhaps there’s slightly more of a chance they’re working with a retailer who is willing to assume some of the leases.”
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