80. Going-Out-of-Business Sales

In the summer of 2018, the Toys R Us going-out-of-business sale was in full swing. Signs promised 50 to 70 percent off storewide. But orchestrating that kind of fire sale across hundreds of locations is not simple. The chain called in a professional. “My name is Bradley Snyder. I'm the executive managing director at Tiger Group.” Snyder is in the liquidation business. “We are event merchants,” he says. “Our job is to drive traffic as fast as we can, and I will tell you that we've never been busier.”

The liquidation business

When a major retailer like Toys R Us files for bankruptcy and decides to permanently close, it has a legal obligation to recover as much cash as possible to pay off its debts. That means selling off every last item on the shelves. Enter the liquidators. These firms either buy the inventory upfront or, more commonly, work on a consulting basis, charging a percentage of the sale proceeds. For a fee, they handle the entire closing event from start to finish. Tiger Group has been in this business for more than two decades. “We've been involved in practically every major liquidation or store closing project in North America,” Snyder says. “Linens and Things, Sharper Image, Lord & Taylor, Nordstrom Canada, Sears Canada—on and on.”