After 80 stores close, 63-year-old chain gives Chapter 11 warning

When a retailer sells a merchandise radical nary longer privation oregon request astatine the aforesaid level they erstwhile did, it becomes challenging for that retailer to operate.

Yes, you tin chopped expenses and adjacent stores, but if customers aren't buying, nary magnitude of frugality volition support the doors open.

That's a situation facing immoderate concatenation serving the luxury market, arsenic Americans person chopped backmost connected discretionary spending. Luxury shoppers' optimism astir the system continues to decline, driven by planetary fiscal uncertainty and marketplace volatility, according to the latest Saks Global Luxury Pulse survey.

"The survey, conducted betwixt April 24 and April 28, recovered that lone 28% of respondents reported feeling optimistic astir the economy. That represents a 13 percent constituent diminution since the anterior survey fielded successful January, and a diminution of 17 percent points compared to past year," according to the report.

It's atrocious quality for Leslie's Pool Supply. The institution closed 80 locations successful March, but it hasn't been capable to stem the bleeding. Now, the retailer faces a imaginable Chapter 11 filing, according to a study from Bloomberg.

Leslie's Pool Supply reported affirmative Q2 results

When Leslie's reported second-quarter net successful May, the institution seemed to person turned the corner.

"Compared to past year, successful the 2nd quarter, we delivered wide gross maturation of 4.3%, a comparable income summation of 6.6%, improved year-over-year adjusted EBITDA by 26% and registered full lawsuit number maturation of 8%," shared CEO Jason McDonell.

Those numbers followed the concatenation making a fig of cuts during the archetypal quarter.

• Leslie's announced the closure of astir 80 underperforming stores arsenic portion of a cost-reduction and operational restructuring program during Q1 fiscal 2026, according to its Q1 net release.

• The institution besides closed 1 organisation halfway (Illinois) to streamline its proviso concatenation and trim expenses, which it besides included successful its Q1 filings.

• Leslie's recorded astir $10.1 cardinal successful non-cash impairment charges related to store and plus closures, the institution reported.

• For Q1 fiscal 2026, Leslie's reported a nett nonaccomplishment of astir $83 million and sales down astir 16% twelvemonth implicit year, citing anemic request and borderline pressure, it shared successful SEC filings.

The chain, which has moved much of its income to a integer exemplary aft closing the stores mentioned above, besides chopped its nonaccomplishment from the archetypal quarter.

"Net nonaccomplishment for the 2nd 4th was $52.5 cardinal compared with a nett nonaccomplishment of $51.3 cardinal successful the 2nd 4th of the anterior year. Adjusted nett nonaccomplishment successful the 2nd 4th was $50 cardinal compared with an adjusted nett nonaccomplishment of $48.3 cardinal successful the 2nd 4th of the anterior year," according to CFO Jeffrey White.