Hastings Entertainment plans on closing all its locations The stores are being liquidated after bankruptcy proceedings



U.S. retail chain Hastings Entertainment announced this week it plans to close all of its locations after Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

U.S. retail chain Hastings Entertainment announced this week it plans to close all of its locations after Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings. Photo: Gohastings.com Photo: Gohastings.com Image 1 of / 17 Caption Close Hastings Entertainment plans on closing all its locations 1 / 17 Back to Gallery

U.S. retail chain Hastings Entertainment announced this week it plans to close all of locations after Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings.

The chain sold books, music, video games, movies and other media items and did brisk business in small towns across the country. For many people, it was the only place they could purchase hard-to-find music, books and games. The company also sold used media at inexpensive prices.

According to the Hastings website, the chain still has locations locally in Conroe and Lake Jackson. The San Marcos/San Antonio area still has three stores in business. Hastings also had a location in Galveston not too far from the Seawall for years, long since closed.

Employees at the Lake Jackson store said that they begin slashing prices on Saturday, while Conroe employees said they weren't sure when that would begin at that location.

Hastings' remaining 126 stores will be shut down soon, but a brand representative didn't have an exact date on closures.

According to Billboard, after Hastings filed for Chapter 11 protection, the owners had hoped to find someone to buy the company. That didn't happen.

Hastings Entertainment, headquartered in Amarillo, was founded in 1968 by Sam Marmaduke. He was the man who convinced Walmart to begin selling music, a decision that would pay off big for the retailer in the following decades.

Hastings sent out this statement to news outlets this week.

"Five weeks ago, Hastings filed for Chapter 11 protection with the goal of expediting our search for a buyer that would help us complete our re-merchandising strategy and position our business for long-term success. At the completion of the sale process yesterday, the winning buyer was a joint venture that will instead oversee a liquidation of our stores to ensure we are maximizing the value of all of our remaining merchandise and assets as we prepare to close. All Hastings stores, our e-Commerce business and our corporate office will all discontinue operations at the end of this process.

On Friday, July 22, the Bankruptcy Court is expected to approve our agreement with the companies who will oversee our store closing sales, Hilco Merchant Resources LLC and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC.

We thank our customers and employees for their loyalty over the years, and we hope to see our customers at store closing sales."

According to the Amarillo Globe-News, Hastings' locations will close on a store-by-store basis. Employees will have only seven days' notice of when each store will close.

All Hastings merchandise is supposed to be sold off by Oct, 31.