something sparkly this way comes…

323 of the 373 Whitehall stores will shut their doors in six weeks’ time, with the remaining 50 to remain open through Christmas, one last gasp, I suppose. Those who choose to stay until closing will receive a severance package and unemployment. Palisades (where my last day is August 10th, I’ll be working across the hall at Zale’s starting Monday) is one of the fifty. Jefferson Valley (where I used to work, with a psychotic manager and two-faced coworkers), is not. Couldn’t happen to a nicer bunch of people. I know I’m engaging in schadenfreude, but can anyone blame me?

From Bloomberg.com, July 23, 2008:

“Whitehall Jewelers Inc. tomorrow will face a long line of jewelry suppliers who will argue that the 373-store retailer, which filed for Chapter 11 protection on June 23, has no right to liquidate goods they supplied on consignment. Whitehall already has approval to hold a July 31 auction to decide which liquidator will make the best offer for selling the assets at going-out-of- business [GOB] sales.

“The hearing tomorrow is part of a separate process to authorize the GOB sales themselves and decide what Whitehall can and can’t sell.

“Whitehall argues that it has the right to sell consignment merchandise because there is a dispute over whether the goods were provided under arrangements valid under state law.

“Some of the jewelry suppliers counter Whitehall’s argument and contend no public filings about the consignments were required under state law. Others contend that their filings make valid consignments even if they didn’t amend the filing when the company changed the spelling of ‘Jewelers.’ [from "Jewellers"]

“The hearing also covers Whitehall’s motion for final approval of $80 million in financing from lenders for whom Bank of America NA serves as agent. Whitehall already has interim authority to borrow $22 million.

“The Chapter 11 petition by Chicago-based Whitehall listed assets of $207.1 million against debt of $185.4 million. Whitehall’s stores in 39 states include 78 purchased in April in the Chapter 11 liquidation of Friedman’s Inc.

“The case is Whitehall Jewelers Holdings Inc., 08-11261, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Delaware (Wilmington).”

And from Jamie Mason at TheDeal.com, July 14, 2008:

“Whitehall’s Final Sale Approved

“A Delaware judge has approved the bidding procedures for bankrupt jewelry retailer Whitehall Jewelers Holdings Inc.’s going-out-of-business sales at all of its stores but not the stalking-horse bidder’s breakup fee. Since the breakup fee was denied, the group has reserved the right not to participate in the auction, so it’s unclear if there will be a stalking-horse bidder for the sale. The stalking-horse bidders had agreed to pay Whitehall, which sells diamonds, gold, precious and semiprecious jewelry and watches, 55.5% of the value of the inventory if it’s between $169 million and $177 million. However, if the inventory is worth between $138 million and $145 million, Whitehall will receive 53.5% of the value. This means that Whitehall could receive between $73.8 million and $98.2 million, depending on what its inventory is worth. “

The definition of a stalking horse bidder, from Wikipedia: “In bankruptcy, a stalking horse bid is a first, favorable bid solicited by the bankrupt company strategically to prevent low ball offers.”

What seems like the clincher, from Gerson Lehrman Group, “The Expert Network,” July 8, 2008:

“If the company [Gitanjali] was able to acquire Whitehall Jewelers’ 375 [sic] stores, it would likely be the principal diamond supplier to about 518 mall based jewelry stores with a [sic] annual turnover of about $475 million.

“However, it remains to be seen whether the company can strike a deal with the creditors to buy Whitehall. Longer term, it’s even more problematic if the Gitanjali’s product breadth is sufficiently broad enough to support 518 jewelry stores in the US marketplace. According to unnamed Reuters’ sources, Gitanjali’s deal with Whitehall is between 3.5 billion and 4.0 billion rupees. That’s $80.85 million to $92.45 million at current exchange rates. The question is whether all classes of creditors would be better off liquidating the company.

“According to court papers the company had $207 million in assets and about $185.4 million in debt. The Gitanjali deal would probably mean unsecured creditors would get pennies on the dollar while secured creditors recouped most of their investment. With Gitanjali the likely beneficiary of Whitehall’s future purchases, trade creditors have little incentive to agree to the deal and would get more if the company was simply liquidated. Another possibility would be to liquidate the existing inventory and sell the Whitehall name and fixed assets to Gitanjali. How much irreparable damage a 90 to 120 day ‘Up to 70% Off’ liquidation sale would do the Whitehall and Lundstrom trade names is an open question.”

I think I’ll pass.

The High And Mighty Container Store (TCS) has dropped off the top ten of Forbes’ Top 100 Companies To Work For List. They are now at number twenty, down from number four last year and way down from the lofty height of number one a few years back. They can no longer claim Top Ten status. I predicted this downfall back when I worked there and some genius came up with what I now refer to as The Blue Bracelet Debacle.

You remember the yellow silicone Livestrong bracelets that Lance Armstrong made so popular so many years ago? Someone used that inspirational vehicle to create a potentially destructive atmosphere at the employee level. They made the same bracelets, in TCS blue, with the words “FRONT AND STRAIGHTEN” on them. The idea was this: you put the bracelet on your right wrist. If you walked by an item that was not “fronted and/or straightened,” (brought to the front of the shelf so that it “kissed the lip”) and did not stop to front and straighten it yourself, and a coworker saw you commit this heinous crime, they were supposed to tell you to switch your bracelet. You then changed the bracelet to your left wrist. If you had your bracelet on your right wrist for less than 21 days, you would be spoken to and written up.

I am so not lying about this. I still have the bracelet, as a reminder whenever I hearken back to the days of great pay (for retail), that I must not go back. Not on my life.

My job hunt has started in earnest. I had decided not to look for work immediately following the shitcanning from Crate because who wants to really be getting trained the month before Christmas? I got a “Work Search Record” from the Department of Labor that has spots to fill in where I’ve looked for work, and when, and who I spoke to. A lot of the stuff I’m applying for has online applications, and for some of those I haven’t received an email confirmation telling me that they got my applications. A couple of days ago I looked up the store directory for the Jefferson Valley Mall, because, while it isn’t a great mall, it is close to home (eighteen minutes door to door). Among the usual suspects (B. Dalton Booksellers, The Gap, Build-a-Bear Workshop) there were some jewelry stores. Not just run-of-the-mill dreck like Kay and Zales, but two upscale stores, Littman and Whitehall. If there’s one thing I know besides rubber stamps, it’s jewelry. Back in the ’90s I worked for D.P. Paul Jewelers in Hampton, Virginia, and I was the assistant manager for Lord & Taylor’s fine jewelry department in Scarsdale. D.P. Paul used to be the middle sister between Zales and Bailey, Banks, and Biddle. I went in to ask for an application at Littman; its dark blue walls made it feel like a cave, the feeling to be reinforced by the troll guarding the goods. I walked in, stood in front of the older blonde woman sitting doing paperwork, and waited. She finally looked up and said, “Yes?” How welcoming! I asked for an application anyway, so I could put it on my sheet. “We’re not hiring,” she said, “but you could come in and talk to the manager, I guess.” I met pretty much the same attitude at Kay and Zales; the drone at Kay preferring to talk to the UPS guy over me. I could have been a customer for all she knew, coming to spend thousands on their schlock. Not that there was anywhere near that much worth having, most of the nice-looking pieces were lab-created. On to Whitehall.

When I worked in Virginia, there was a Whitehall Jewelers in the same mall. I got friendly with the manager there (he had a gorgeous Afghan Hound), and they had a lot of the same-quality pieces at we did. We sold Rolexes, Movados, and Gucci; their highest-priced watches were Movados. So I was familiar with the caliber of merchandise. I walked in and was instantly greeted by two salespeople. I asked if I could have an application and was told, “Absolutely!” I said that I had prior jewelry sales experience. The gentleman who handed me the application said, “Can you come in for an interview tomorrow at two?” Stunned, I said yes. He handed me a pen and said, “You can fill this out right here, if you’d like.” I filled out the three-page application, hand cramping, and handed it back. He scanned it briefly and introduced himself, then said, “Tomorrow at two?” I introduced myself, and said yes. I fairly skipped out of there (stopping first at the pretzel place) and on home.

Yesterday was the interview, and I went, dressed in my best Sigrid Olsen top and black pants with my black Dansko Mary Janes, my great-aunt Ann’s pearl choker, a pearl bracelet I’d made, cubic zirconia earrings (small enough to look real but big enough to impress), and a deco diamond and ruby ring as well as my Freedom Ring and my Sundance wedding band. I explained about the discharge from Crate, and how ridiculous it was (neglect of duties, my ass!), and he put a big “X” through the explanation on the form as if to say, “Never mind that nonsense.” I turned on the charm, glowed when I spoke of my past retail experience, how I loved finding solutions for people, and my philosophy on jewelry sales. How good it feels to be part of such an important purchase. How pleased your help is going to make that lucky recipient. He asked me if I had any questions (I forgot to ask about the dress code; both women I saw had jackets on and I don’t have any jackets. Curses.), and then said, “I’m going to do the background check, but I’d love to hire you.” We discussed salary (I think I went too low. Crap.), commission, bonuses, and benefits. He introduced me to the rest of the staff, and asked if they wanted to talk to me. The assistant manager did (I want his job!), so we chatted for a little bit. Then came questions from the other full-timer, a woman who’s going to be moving back to Florida soon (”It’s too cold here!”). So hopefully I’ll hear from them today and I can get started making some real money!