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A deal between HHGregg Inc. and a mystery bidder has fallen apart, leaving the bankrupt appliance retailer without a floor bid for its proposed April auction, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The Indianapolis-based retailer said on Thursday that it has terminated the “nonbinding term sheet with an anonymous party,” which contemplated a sale for all of its of its assets. HHGregg, which sought bankruptcy protection on March 6, said in court papers it had signed a term sheet with an anonymous interested party, but had yet to reach an asset purchase agreement. While the buyer had yet to be named, the company considered it to be a critical vendor to HHGregg.

Gander Mountain Co., which sells hunting, camping, fishing and other outdoor-related gear from stores across the U.S., sought chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with the goal of finding a buyer, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday. The St. Paul, Minn., company said on Friday that it plans to seek going-concern bids for its retail chain in the coming weeks. If multiple offers are received, it has proposed holding an auction in late April so it could ultimately close a sale by May 15. Negotiations with a potential stalking-horse bidder are under way but didn’t yield a firm bid before Friday’s chapter 11 filing, court papers say. To fund its chapter 11 case, Gander Mountain is seeking court approval of $452 million in bankruptcy financing from existing lenders led by Wells Fargo. The financing consists of new money as well as a refinancing of $390 million already owed to the lender group.

Gordmans Stores Inc., the century-old discount department store chain, filed for bankruptcy with plans to liquidate its inventory and assets, Bloomberg News reported today. The company, which posted losses in five of the past six quarters, listed total debt of $131 million in chapter 11 papers filed today in Nebraska federal court. Gordmans said that it has an agreement with Tiger Capital Group and Great American Group “for the sale in liquidation of the inventory and other assets of Gordmans’ retail stores and distribution centers,” subject to court approval or a better offer. For now, the chain will operate “as usual without interruption,” Chief Executive Officer Andy Hall said in the statement. Omaha, Nebraska-based Gordmans, which operates over 100 stores in 22 states and employs about 5,100 people, is the latest victim in a retail industry suffering from sluggish mall traffic and a move by shoppers to the internet.

General Wireless Operations Inc., which set out to revive RadioShack, the venerable consumer-electronics chain, filed for bankruptcy after a last-ditch effort to co-brand with Sprint Corp. still failed to keep up with changing consumer habits, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. General Wireless filed for chapter 11 protection on  Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy court in Delaware. It listed assets and liabilities of $100 million to $500 million each.  The company was contrived to help the RadioShack name live on following the original chain’s 2015 bankruptcy filing and had joined forces with Sprint to run a store-within-a-store partnership. But pressures on the business persisted, including sluggish foot traffic at shopping centers and a shift to e-commerce. General Wireless said that it will close 200 of its 1,300 stores. 

RadioShack’s owner is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection for the second time in as many years as the 1,500-store chain looks to further shrink to survive, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Parent company General Wireless Operations Inc. is in discussions with partner Sprint Corp. and potential strategic investors about reducing the chain’s footprint and could file for chapter 11 protection as soon as today. Sprint operates sections in many RadioShack stores that sell its wireless service and smartphones. The Fort Worth, Texas, company in recent weeks laid off dozens of headquarters employees and has already started closing roughly 200 stores. A spokesman for hedge fund Standard General LP, the company’s majority investor, declined to comment.

Gordmans Stores Inc., a Midwestern department-store chain founded more than a century ago, is preparing to file for bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The filing could come as soon as this month as shares of the Omaha, Nebraska-based company have fallen more than 75 percent in the past year, battered by losses in five of the last six quarters. Gordmans traces its roots to 1915, when Russian immigrant Sam Richman opened a clothing shop in Omaha. He later teamed up with a former Bloomingdale’s executive, Dan Gordman, whose car broke down in Omaha en route to California. The Richman Gordman chain, whose stores were all renamed Gordmans in 2000, eventually grew to more than 100 locations in 22 states. Private equity firm Sun Capital Partners bought the business in 2008 and took it public two years later.

Officials with electronics and appliance retailer HHGregg announced today that the struggling business has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy, the Indianapolis Star reported today. News of the filing comes just days after the company announced the shuttering of 88 stores in 15 states, a major move made to give the retailer a better chance at survival. Indianapolis-based HHGregg has signed a term sheet with an anonymous party to purchase its assets, according to a company press release. Company officials anticipate an emergence from chapter 11 in approximately 60 days.