CPI Corp, the company that operated photo studios inside Sears and Walmart among others has filed for bankruptcy and ceased operations. CPI closed all its U.S. and Puerto Rican studio and store operations on April 3, resulting in more than 4,300 employees’ being fired, according to an SEC filing.
From the website of the company handing their bankruptcy:
On May 1, 2013 (the “Petition Date”), CPI Corp. and fifteen of its subsidiaries (the “Debtor”):
CPI Corp. | Bella Pictures Holdings, LLC, |
Centrics Technology Inc., | Consumer Programs Inc., |
Consumer Programs Partner Inc., | CPI Canadian Holdings, Inc., |
CPI Images LLC, | CPI International Holdings, Inc., |
CPI Prints Plus Inc., | CPI Research & Development, Inc., |
CPI Technology Corp., | Image Source, Inc., |
Myportraits.com, Inc., | Ridgedale Prints Plus, Inc., |
Sandy Realty Holdings, LLC, | Texas Portraits L.P., |
filed their voluntary petitions in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware (the “Bankruptcy Court”) seeking relief under Chapter 7 of the United States Bankruptcy Code.
We have been following this story for several weeks now and are working on a large post as to what we think this means to all of the small studios in the country (good news in our opinion). Check back after the Memorial Day weekend for a more detailed assessment of the situation.