Looking for stuff? 99 Cents Only stores are running on empty
The liquidation sales have begun at the 99 Cents Only stores in Las Vegas.
Outside of several 99 Cents Only stores throughout the Las Vegas Valley there are store closing signs that promise discounts of up to 30 percent off for certain items.
The deep discount retailer has at least 15 stores in Las Vegas, four in Henderson, three in North Las Vegas and one in Boulder City.
Inside several 99 Cents Only stores, the shelves range from mostly full to mostly empty depending on the aisle. The aisles with fresh produce, cleaning and kitchen utensil items were very bare and aisles with packaged food and specialty items like toys and office supplies were better stocked.
The discounts in the stores ranged from 5 percent for drinks to up to 20 percent for toys. Most discounts were set at 10 percent including for groceries, frozen food and health items.
On Tuesday, the 99 Cents Only store at the intersection of Cheyenne Avenue and Las Vegas Boulevard in the northwest Las Vegas Valley had shelves that were either mostly empty or half full.
On Wednesday, the 99 Cents Only store near the intersection of Spring Mountain Road and Rainbow Boulevard had better-stocked shelves but still had many half-empty aisles. Employees were restocking cleaning supplies on Wednesday morning.
Also on Wednesday, the 99 Cents Only store near the intersection of Tropicana Avenue and Fort Apache Road also had half-empty shelves but employees were restocking grocery items. The aisle containing cleaning supplies was empty except for a few mops and buckets that were for sale. Employees were restocking grocery items on Wednesday morning.
All these locations were busy with shoppers who were picking up items and ensuring the discounts promised on the shelves matched the final receipt. Employees at these 99 Cents Only stores said they weren’t sure of the exact closure date for their location but they all said it would be sometime in June.
On April 4, it was announced that all 371 locations of the 99 Cents Only stores were closing and its merchandise would be liquidated. The closure was attributed to inflation, rising losses, macro-economic pressures and the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on retail stores, said Mike Simoncic, interim chief executive officer of 99 Cents Only stores.
On Sunday the company filed for bankruptcy protection in Delaware. In the bankruptcy filing, the 99 Cents Only stores said it owed about $60 million to around 30 creditors.
The company didn’t respond to questions on the exact closure of its Las Vegas stores or how many employees will be impacted by the closures. The bankruptcy documents indicate the company has about 10,800 full and part-time employees.
Contact Sean Hemmersmeier at shemmersmeier@reviewjournal.com. Follow @seanhemmers34 on X.
