What was supposed to be a standard Chapter 11 restructuring turned out to be a whole lot worse than that for Conn’s HomePlus. The 134-year-old company first announced plans to enter bankruptcy proceedings last week with the intent of closing a little less than half of its locations.

But then the books were opened.

With the road to recovery essentially gone, Conn’s – and the recently acquired W.S. Badcock Corp. – adjusted course and now plans to close all locations as it seeks a potential buyer. All told, that’s over 170 locations for Conn’s HomePlus and over 380 stores for Badcock Home Furniture & More, a business founded 120 years ago. The shift will impact some 3,800 full-time and 150 part-time employees across 15 states.

Both stores are currently running liquidation promotions as they seek to offload as much inventory as possible ahead of their expected shuttering around the end of October.

So, that’s the news. But what’s all this mean for you?

First and foremost, it means that now is the time to dig out and dust off the ol’ “Prepare for Share” playbook that was a part of many conversations back in the mid 20-teens as Sears was going through this exact same process. It’s unfortunate to see what’s happening to these two massive brands that have a combined 250-plus-year history. But their loss is about to be the independent retail channel’s gain – in a massive way. Conn’s has posted revenue of around $1.3 to $1.6 billion per year over the past decade.

Those 550-locations going out are going to leave 550 communities with a major hole in the home furnishing, appliance and consumer electronics retail categories. It’s an opportunity for the dealers in those 550 markets to position themselves as the perfect replacement, the better-equipped business that’s able to serve their needs.

And that positioning – i.e. marketing – can and should start today. If you’re a business in one of the markets that’s losing a Conn’s or Badcock (or both), you should already be thinking about how you’re going to capture those potential revenue dollars. Get out in front of your customers and tell them that they shouldn’t let the prospect of half-off product lure them into a situation where that appliance can’t be serviced – easily anyway. Financing options are going to be limited, if at all existent. The in-store experience is going to be like digging through the bargain bin. Don’t let your customers settle.

You might even lean into some messaging for the future. Let those consumers know, “We’ll be here to help you replace or repair that broken couch when the time is right.” Plant the seed now that you are the local expert those misplaced shoppers can turn to in their eventual time of need.

Don’t discount, either, the potential to market yourself to some of those 3,900+ individuals who are going to be looking for work and, more importantly, have experience selling the products that you carry in your store today. If you’re in a position to hire or are in desperate need of some extra hands and happen to be in one of the impacted markets, you may want to look at updating your LinkedIn page, prep those job descriptions and be there at the ready to bring on new, hungry, motivated talent.

It’s a refrain that you’ve heard throughout this roller coaster of a year, but it stands true, now more than ever: You need to be present. Customers aren’t going to just happen upon your business in droves. Some might. But the businesses that are winning today are the ones that continue to keep their brand and their message in front of their customers in every way possible, in every medium possible. And for the dealers in these Conn’s and Badcock markets, right now is a tremendous opportunity to capture even more attention, eyeballs and sales before someone else does.