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Basha's, Ritz and Store Closures

There were two more big announcements on the retailer bankruptcy and closure front in recent days. Ritz Camera will auction its 400 remaining stores and liquidation is a distinct possibility.

Ritz's store count had been a bit vague. Previously, I had it down has operating about 1,000 stores before its bankruptcy. But the number seems to be 800.

The company said it had "determined for a number of reasons that a plan to exit bankruptcy as a stand-alone going concern business is not a likely option," according to documents filed Tuesday in federal bankruptcy court in Delaware.

The documents said there are two potential bidders that may continue to operate the company's Ritz Camera, Wolf Camera, Kits Cameras, Inkley's and The Camera Shop stores. But the documents contain several provisions, such as waivers of state and local requirements applying to liquidation sales, that would clear the way for an immediate going out of business sale.

Meanwhile, regional grocer Basha's, which operated about 163 stores earlier this year, is reportedly headed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It has closed five stores already and is planning on shutting 10 more.

Numbers below have been updated to include revised store count for Ritz.

Bankruptcies and Liquidations:

Potential Bankruptcies & Liquidation Impact: 1,541 confirmed closures out of about 3,185 stores

Announced Closings

Total Closings: up to 1,600 U.S. stores

Potential Impact of All Announcements to Date: 3,141 closures out of up to 4,985 potentially affected U.S. stores

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