New Chapter 11 Filing - Vanity Shop of Grand Forks Inc.

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Vanity Shop of Grand Forks Inc.

  • 3/1/17 Recap: As malls empty out across the country, the dominoes are starting to fall. If there is nothing but vacancy and tumbleweed around you, foot traffic will stall. If foot traffic stalls, revenue stalls. If revenues stall, landlords can't get paid. And if landlords can't get paid, well, say hello to the Grim Reaper. Okay, that's a little dramatic, but, to be fair, this does generally describe mall-based retail these days. And the latest chapter in this sad story is the liquidation of Vanity Shop's 137 stores - the affect of which in smaller geographies like North Dakota can't be underestimated (not to mention any ripple effect: 60% of the company's inventory came from US suppliers). In addition to the (now) regular laundry list of prior companies who have had a similar fate in the retail space, e.g., The Limited Brands, THIS was probably the most interesting disclosure in the company's filing: "The Debtor initially contemplated soliciting a bid from Hilco Merchant Resources, LLC (who has routinely performed inventory appraisals and liquidation analyses of Debtor's assets every six months) but was advised that Hilco is currently unavailable to take on another liquidation project at this time." (emphasis added). Now THAT is telling.
  • Jurisdiction: D. of North Dakota
  • Capital Structure: $4.3mm debt (Wells Fargo), $5mm subordinated debt   
  • Company Professionals:
    • Legal: Vogel Law (Jon Brakke, Caren Stanley)
    • Liquidator: Tiger Capital Group LLC
      • Legal: Cohen Tauber Spievack & Wagner PC (Robert Boghosian)
    • Claims Agent: KCC (*click on company name for docket)
  • Other Parties in Interest:
    • Wells Fargo
      • Legal: Riemer Braunstein LLP (Donald Rothman, Alexander Rheaume)
    • Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors (Washington Prime Group Inc., GGP Limited Partnership, Simon Property Group Inc.)
      • Legal: Fox Rothschild LLP (Mette Kurth, Paul Labov, Ellie Barragry, L. John Bird)
      • Financial Advisor: BGA Management LLC (Michael Knight)

Updated 4/27/17