Tuesday, February 01, 2000
TRISTATE BUSINESS SUMMARY
Roberds Grand closeout sale begins Feb. 7
The closeout sale of Roberds Grand in Springdale is scheduled to begin next week, after three liquidators received court approval to handle the clearance of it and eight other Roberds stores.
The stores' parent, Dayton-based Roberds Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Jan. 19 and said it would close all eight stores in Tampa and its Roberds Grand in Springdale. The Grand, at 250,000 square feet, is the only superstore Roberds operates.
The companies handling the liquidation are doing so in a joint venture. They are Chicago-based Hilco/Great American Group, retail consultants; Gene Rosenberg Associates of Connecticut; and Professional Sales and Consulting Co. Inc. in Florida. The latter two companies specialize in furniture liquidation.
Ben Nortman, spokesman for Hilco/Great American, said it is too soon to say how long the Grand liquidation will take. But he said none of the store's inventory will be directed to the chain's Dayton stores.
The store-closing sale at Roberds Grand will begin Feb. 7. In Florida, sales will commence within two weeks.
MDI Entertainment to buy Lottery Channel
MDI Entertainment Inc., a developer of lottery games, Monday agreed to buy the Cincinnati-based Lottery Channel for about $70 million in stock, hoping to sell lottery tickets someday on the Lottery Channel's Web site.
The Lottery Channel becomes Greater Cincinnati's first publicly traded Internet company.
Hartford, Conn.-based MDI Entertainment said it will pay 13 million shares and options of its own stock for closely held Lottery Channel. The combined company plans to rename itself Lottery.Com Inc., MDI and Lottery Channel said.
MDI Chief Executive Steven Saferin said he expects that more than $4 billion in lottery tickets will someday be sold annually over the Internet, after online lottery sales are legal. Lottery Channel's Web site, called Lottery.com, will help make his company the market leader, he said.
Convergys not expected to cut Norwood jobs
Convergys Corp. Monday said it doesn't expect any job cuts at its Norwood customer care center as result of a decision by Sprint PCS to take some functions performed at the Norwood center back in house.
“We expect the people employed on the Sprint PCS work will be moved to other accounts,” a Convergys spokesman said. Up to 400 of the 1,200 employed at the Norwood center handled customer service calls for the nationwide wireless service provider at peak times.
LanVision gets extension to submit balance sheet
LanVision Systems Inc. has been given another extension — this time until Feb. 15 — to submit an unaudited balance sheet to Nasdaq officials to prove that it meets requirements for listing on the Nasdaq small-cap stock market.
The Mason-based medical information and record-keeping company was delisted in October 1999 from the Nasdaq national market after failing to meet the national market's standard of having at least $5 million in market value outside of insiders' hands.
The company was added to the small-cap market in November but failed to meet the small-cap market's bid-price and asset requirements.
— From staff and wire reports
Ohio workers short on initiative, say Japanese
Delta keeps jobs downtown
Rams win may spur on bulls
Ohioan gets vote on Fed board
Economic boom longest ever in U.S.
Eight Centennial branches to be closed
Army inspection may buttress whistle-blower's suit
TRISTATE BUSINESS SUMMARY
PEOPLE ON THE MOVE
Silicon's new rich still can't buy time
TRISTATE MARKET SPOTLIGHT
