Yikes, just heard the news that Muji USA filed for bankruptcy:

Muji U.S.A Ltd., which is operated by Ryohin Keikaku Co., filed for Chapter 11 in Delaware, according to a filing. It listed assets and liabilities in the range of $50 million to $100 million, and estimated the number of creditors at 200 to 999.

Ryohin Keikaku said in a separate statement that Muji U.S.A. filed for bankruptcy due to shutdowns from the coronavirus. The company had been grappling with losses due to high rent and other costs, and was taking steps to improve sales and renegotiate rents before the pandemic hit, it said.

It is not clear from the article whether they’ll shut everything down and liquidate, or just reorganize and maybe close some stores. (Chapter 11 is a reorganization, but sometimes they end up having to liquidate later, at least from my understanding.) And if they close their physical US stores, I doubt they’d keep their US online store open either. The fact that they weren’t doing well even before the pandemic is not a good sign. The US stores were only 2.5% of the company’s global revenue, so I’m sure they’ll still be active elsewhere, even in Japan, they were hit hard by the pandemic this year.

If you’re a fan of Muji notebooks and pens and office supplies, you might want to stock up just in case!

Read more: Muji U.S.A. Files for Chapter 11 Citing Pandemic Shutdowns