If Ever a Wiz There Was

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court has approved the plan of TW Inc. (Plainfield, N.J.) to begin going-out-of-business sales at the remaing 17 The Wiz consumer electronics stores. TW Inc., currently a subsidiary of GBO Electronics Acquisitions (a private liquidation company), filed for bankruptcy protection on March 14, 2003, announcing plans to close these stores.

“The entire inventory at these 17 stores must be liquidated before we shut the doors of The Wiz for good, including our entire inventory of televisions, DVD players, computers, camcorders, and home audio and more,” said chief restructuring officer Stephen Gray.

The 17 closing stores include seven in New Jersey (Union, Raritan, Brick, Holmdel, Jersey City, Succasunna and Paramus); nine in New York (The Bronx, Valley Stream, Carle Place, Scarsdale and five in Manhattan); and one in Norwalk, Conn.

Prior to its bankruptcy filing, The Wiz was a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp. (Bethpage, N.Y.), which bought the chain out of bankruptcy in 1998.