About 500 Amarillo, Texas, employees are facing uncertain times as Hastings Entertainment announced that it has filed for chapter 11 protection while it seeks potential buyers, the Amarillo Globe-News reported yesterday. Stores will remain open through a 30-day period in which the company hopes to find a purchaser. On Friday, the company announced that failure to find a buyer could mean corporate downsizing or closing the entire chain of 126 stores. Hastings is no longer honoring customer deposits for future movie purchases, and existing deposits can be applied toward additional store purchases. Owned by the Marmaduke family for more than 40 years, the company was sold about two years ago for $21.4 million to Draw Another Circle, LLC. Hastings cited declining demand for physical copies of movies, books, music and games as well as elevated pressure from competitors as reasons for the bankruptcy filing.
