Ultimate Electronics to close all stores

[Skaggs]

Ultimate Electronics to close all stores

By Kavita Kumar, 314-340-8017, [e-mail], www.STLtoday.com
Posted: Monday, February 7, 2011 1:11 pm

Another electronics retailer is biting the dust.

Ultimate Electronics, which filed for bankruptcy last month, is joining the likes of Circuit City in closing all of its 46 stores. The list of stores to be shuttered include four in the St. Louis region -- Ballwin, St. Peters, Fenton, and Fairview Heights.

Tim Boyer, operations manager for the Ballwin store, said employees have been informing guests today of the plans to close the store. A liquidation sale will start soon -- perhaps as soon as Wednesday -- but the details have not yet been finalized, he said.

"We will close when we're out of product," he said.

For now, the stores are still accepting gift cards, he said. And extended warranties will continue to be honored either by a third-party warranty company or through the manufacturer, he added.

Ultimate Electronics, which is based in Thornton, Col., filed for bankruptcy on Jan. 26, citing decreasing sales at some locations and the refusal of some suppliers to ship goods on credit, according to news reports. It listed its debts in the range of $100 million to $500 million.

The chain had previously filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2005.

[Skaggs]

The Albany NY store opened on April 28, 2010.

I believe they also opened a store in Buffalo in the Fall of 2010.

[adam]

That was fast.

[Brad]

wow this totally blows, my parents live in Las Vegas, and the ultimate electronics by there house was so nice, all recessed lighting, hundreads of speakers to test, indiviual screening rooms. I know the albany one isnt like this but im not happy about this, I have only been in the alabny one once, reminded me of circuit city in some ways.

[Skaggs]

We had the scoop here 2 days before the Times Union. Here's the article in today's paper:

Ultimate Electronics is closing all its stores

ALBANY — Ultimate Electronics, the Colorado-based retailer of computers, games and other electronics, is closing its 46 stores after a bankruptcy courtapproved liquidation sale. Locally, the company has a store at Crossgates Commons on Washington Ave. Extension.

Ultimate Electronics opened its Albany store last summer in the space formerly occupied by Circuit City, which closed its stores after a bankruptcy filing. The liquidation sale began this week.

The company filed for Chapter 11 reorganization in late January.

— Eric Anderson

[BenJF3]

Wow, I knew about this a month ago. Didn't really think it was big news as Ultimate was just another overpriced retailer. I went to the one in Carousel Center (Syracuse) and was largely unimpressed.

[ebo]

I too found them overpriced on my one and only visit to the Albany store. But the biggest turnoff was their ads. Page after page of blue computer and TV screens with prices on them. If the unattractive ads contributed to their failure, the acronym BSOD seems appropriate.