Bon-Ton Inc. Has A Potential Buyer

Bon-Ton Inc., the owner of Younkers and Boston Stores, is in talks with a potential buyer. Without a deal, more than 2,200 jobs could be lost in Wisconsin.

Bon-Ton’s potential buyer consists of Namdar Realty Group and Washington Prime Group, two mall owners, and DW Partners, an alternative asset manager.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in February. Last week, the company warned of potential layoffs in the state unless it found a buyer.

While Bon-Ton and the groups continue talks, all its remaining stores continue operations, and an originally scheduled auction is being postponed until Monday.

Still, Felicia Miller, a professor of marketing at Marquette University, says the company will face additional challenges even if it closes a deal.

“Maintaining five, six different brands in half a dozen different states is a very complicated and expensive way to deliver a brand to consumers,” Miller said, adding that the company will have to consolidate its branding.

Bon-Ton has more than 250 stores in the Northeast, Midwest and upper Great Plains. Miller said that’s too many stores.

“Closing unproductive stores, moving stores to a smaller footprint is another efficiency that a lot companies have had to do over time just to get a better balance between supply and demand,” she explained.

In order to make the company competitive, Miller said Bon-Ton will have to reduce overhead and find better ways to stand out among other retailers like Amazon.

If the company fails to turn things around, mall and large shopping areas where Bon-Ton’s stores act as anchors, could be negatively impacted, Miller said.

“If the Bon-Ton store closes and it’s no longer there to provide a draw for a lot of consumers, the smaller stores within that mall are going to suffer as well,” Miller said.

Bon-Ton’s CEO Bill Tracy said in a statement that the company is pleased to have gotten a letter of intent and that it’s committed to “pursuing the best path forward for the company and our stakeholders.”