Rand's Hallmark Stores Get Reprieve, Will Stay Open … for Now

By Karen Sorensen, Joliet Patch Editor

Rand's Hallmark stores will remain open through at least the end of the month as owner Gary Watland works to find buyers for some or all of the six retail outlets, including the Tinley Park location at Brookside Marketplace.

The primary loan holder has backed off a mandate that the assets be auctioned off in a UCC sale that was to be held Tuesday, June 18, Watland said Monday night. It was the announcement of the auction that forced interested buyers to drop their plans to buy one or more stores, in part because there was insufficient time for them to secure financing, he said.

READ: Rand's Hallmark Stores Closing Monday, Being Auctioned Off Tuesday

Although the sale won't benefit Watland, who said he lost everything he owned in the venture, he is committed to keeping the stores going so that the remaining employees do not lose their jobs.

However, he is bitter that the venture was a failure, he said.

"When I bought this company in 2005, it was not what it was represented to be," Watland said. 

As former partner Val Rand said, the economy did deal a blow to sales, Watland said, but he also alleges there were other problems in how the debt was represented and how taxes were being paid that created a situation that was impossible to overcome.

As a result, the stores were not being restocked with enough merchandise and many customers were coming in but unable to purchase what they wanted, he said.

"We were so retricted, we couldn't order new product," Watland said. "Our customers were loyal, but when you're putting out insufficient product, you don't have what they want."

Hallmark, however, wants to remain in the markets in which the Rand stores are located, and if he can arrange sales to new owners, the stores will carry on and won't have the debt problems plaguing the current chain, he said.