Hastings’ Bankruptcy Leaves Entertainment Store In Peril

By Rae Glassford

Hastings Entertainment Center is one of several locations in the city of San Marcos where students and residents can purchase books—but this may be subject to change in the months ahead.

On June 13 Hastings filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The eleventh chapter of the Bankruptcy Code, as determined by the Internal Revenue Service, dictates general reorganization procedures, typically in the case of a corporation or partnership.

According to Chapter 11, the debtor in question must propose a strategy for ensuring the continued existence and operation of their business, including a plan along which to repay creditors over time. The tenets of the IRS’s tax code states if the business fails to find a buyer within 30 days of filing for bankruptcy, the business is slated for closure.

Regional managers at the local Hastings location have declined to comment, but an employee who prefers to remain anonymous said he is optimistic about the company’s future”

“I have been told that we are not closing,” said the Hastings employee. “I hope we won’t close. I don’t expect it to happen, but that’s my personal opinion.”

Jim Litwak, Hastings president and chief operating officer, said the company may be forced to close all of its stores, including the San Marcos location, in the event the business is unable to find a buyer in time.

Another option, Litwak announced, entails Hastings closing its less-successful stores in an attempt to boost sales at its more lucrative locations. The company operates a total of 126 entertainment centers at present, and although this strategy is the lesser of two evils, the layoff resulting from either option would inevitably put thousands of Hastings employees out of work.

“Hearing (the store) might close is heartbreaking,” said Elizabeth Hardy, management sophomore. “I have a lot of memories there—going late at night or making trips with my family.”

Hardy frequents Hastings a few times a month when school is in session, and said she enjoys the store because its merchandise includes multimedia paraphernalia in addition to books and comics.

In the weeks since the company formally announced its financial situation, local Hastings locations have received hundreds of daily phone calls from curious customers. These calls are so great in volume Hastings has been forced to direct such inquiries to an official hotline authorized to handle questions regarding the bankruptcy.

“It’s really up in the air right now with the bankruptcy,” said one hotline operator. “We are looking for potential buyers and talking to various interested parties. The company is in the process of either closing or selling, but that’s all I can report currently.”

The customer inquiry hotline can be reached at 877-427-8464.

This article originally published by the University Star.