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October 3rd, 2009

Wow.

Via: The Plain Dealer:

InkStop Inc., a specialty retailer of ink, toner, consumer electronics and other supplies for small businesses and home offices, abruptly told its employees that it was shuttering all 152 stores nationwide as of Friday and laying off all workers until further notice.

“The company has elected to temporarily close all stores at the close of business today, Oct. 1, to focus on a restructuring plan in an effort to improve the overall operations of the organization,” the Warrensville Heights company told employees in a letter sent late Thursday.

“Paychecks will not be issued on Friday due to our cash constraints. We are working on a plan to improve our cash flow situation and reopen under better circumstances.”

The letter, signed by the Inkstop board of directors, went on to say that medical coverage and other insurance had been paid only through Aug. 31. “Your patience during this difficult time is appreciated,” it said.

That means not only will employees not be paid for the past two weeks, but they will also be financially responsible for their medical benefits since Sept. 1.

“We all knew the hammer was going to come down. We just didn’t think it would happen in one day,” Linda Mastellone, an assistant store manager at InkStop in Newtown, Pa., said via e-mail. “We all saw that the lack of ink [the main reason for the store’s existence] was a big sign that the company clearly didn’t have the capital to purchase product.

“The company has been doing poorly since I came aboard in August,” she said. “I frankly couldn’t see how they were still in business. We didn’t have much ink/toner, and we couldn’t order stock that we usually kept on the shelves.”

According to its profile page on LinkedIn.com, InkStop operates 152 stores in 14 states, including 14 stores in Northeast Ohio. “We are on track to have over 200 stores opened by the end of 2010,” it said. The site also says InkStop, founded in 2005, has 550 employees.

Phone calls to several retail stores went into voicemail, as did calls to several executives and to the company’s headquarters at 4400 Renaissance Parkway in Warrensville Heights.

Next-door tenant Michael Feuer, chief executive and co-founder of Max-Wellness LLC and MaxVentures LLC, said InkStop’s lights were off and the offices appeared unoccupied.

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