SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (unaudited)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2014

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (unaudited) [Abstract]

SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (unaudited)

14.  SUBSEQUENT EVENTS (unaudited)

On March 10, 2015 the Company announced that its Technology Products business segment would be exiting the retail store business in order to accelerate its focus on its business to business (“B2B”) operations. This exit plan includes the closing of substantially all of its retail stores, closing a distribution center, and implementing a general workforce reduction to align available resources with a B2B focus as well as transitioning retail customers to online consumer sales.  The Company has engaged outside firms to assist with the retail store liquidation, as well as the workforce reduction, and anticipates that all of these actions will be completed by the end of the second quarter of 2015. The Company anticipates that one time exit charges will aggregate between $50 and $55 million (including approximately $4 million of severance expenses, and $39 million in lease exit costs) substantially all of which will require cash expenditures. The Company expects these costs to be paid out beginning in the first quarter of 2015 through the end of 2017.

On January 30, 2015, the Company announced that its Industrial Products Group had completed its previously announced acquisition of the Plant Equipment Group, a business-to-business direct marketer of maintenance, repair and operations ("MRO") products, from TAKKT America for $25.9 million in cash; post-closing working capital adjustments were deminimis.