'Bankrupt - 99 Cents Only Stores' by Bright Sun Films, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse

I'm returning to Company Man asks 'The Decline of 99 Cents Only Stores...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse with Jake Williams of Bright Sun Films presenting Bankrupt - 99 Cents Only Stores. I feel like no bankrupt company's story is fully told until both Company Man Mike and Jake Williams of Bright Sun Films have weighed in.

Well known across southern States in America, 99 Cents Only Stores was a growing company, focused on customer service and offering products at a gimmicky, yet very enticing price point... 99 cents. But after corporate takeovers and rising costs, this chain of around 300 locations would begin to struggle and ultimately declare bankruptcy. Join me to find out why.

I'm being a good environmentalist by recycling my reaction from May.

As I wrote most recently in Company Man asks 'The Decline of Red Lobster...What Happened?' A tale of the Retail Apocalypse, "I listed a who's who of retail chains gutted by private equity in CNN Business explains retail bankruptcies and how private equity is gutting retail, tales of the Retail Apocalypse and again in Business Insider and CNBC explain the rise and fall of Chuck E. Cheese, a tale of the Retail Apocalypse and pandemic." The debt left behind by the leveraged buyout hurt the chain's cash flow afterwards, which Company Man Mike illustrated and which Erik blamed as the major reason for the chain's liquidation.

Jake joins Company Man Mike and Erik in that assessment and so do his viewers; the comments on this video nearly unanimously blame the leveraged buyout by private equity for the chain's demise. I'm joining them.

So concludes this tale of the Retail Apocalypse. I might just return to this season's big story, the election, tomorrow. That is, if I don't cover hurricane season instead. Stay tuned.