Olsson's Closes

On Tuesday, September 30, Olsson's Books & Records closed its remaining five locations and petitioned the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of Maryland, for conversion of its current Chapter 11 protection to Chapter 7. In petitioning to convert to Chapter 7, Olsson's cited "stagnant sales, low cash reserves, and an inability to renegotiate current leases, along with a continuing weak retail economy and plummeting music sales."

Olsson's was established in 1972, and at its height had nine retail locations. The five stores that closed on Tuesday were at Virginia's Reagan National Airport, Old Town Alexandria, Arlington Courthouse, and Crystal City, and in Northwest Washington, D.C., at Dupont Circle.

In July, when Olsson's was granted Chapter 11 protection, it closed its Lansburgh/Penn Quarter location on 7th Street, N.W. in Washington.

In a statement on Olsson's website, Stephen Wallace-Haines, the store's general manager, said, "In the end, all the roads towards reorganization led to this dead end: we did not have the money required to pay for product in advance, to collect reserves to buy for Christmas, and satisfy the demands of rent and operational costs. We were losing money just by staying open."

John Olsson, Olsson's principal owner, said, "Although it is certainly a sad day for us, I can rejoice in all the great memories of my life in retail in Washington.... I'm very proud of what we accomplished. My love and gratitude to all my employees, and special thanks to all those thousands of loyal customers."