Whitehall Jewelers to Hold Bankruptcy Liquidation Sale
Jewelry Chain to Liquidate $750 Million of Retail Inventory in 373
Stores
BOSTON--(Business Wire)--
As part of a joint venture, leading national retail liquidation
and asset recovery firms Hudson Capital Partners, LLC; Great American
Group, LLC; Silverman Jeweler Consultants, Inc.; and Gordon Brothers
Group, LLC today announced that it will manage a court-ordered
bankruptcy liquidation sale of Whitehall Jewelers Holdings, Inc.,
which operates 373 specialty jewelry retail stores. The sale, which
will begin August 13, 2008, was ordered by the bankruptcy court as a
result of Whitehall's Chapter 11 filing in June.
Inventory will be liquidated at below market prices, in a sale
that is expected to last approximately four and a half months.
Merchandise to be sold will include a selection of diamonds, gold,
precious and semi-precious jewelry and watches. The liquidation sale
will involve 373 Whitehall store locations in 39 states, including 78
retail locations that were acquired in April 2008 from Friedman's
Jewelers.
"The Whitehall liquidation was ordered after exhaustive efforts to
sell the specialty retail chain or obtain fresh equity both proved
unsuccessful," said Harvey Yellen, Chairman of Great American Group.
"As Whitehall has been a leading specialty retailer in fine jewelry
for more than a century, it is unfortunate that a brand with such
strong heritage has to be liquidated."
Great American Group, Hudson Capital Partners and Silverman
Jeweler Consultants also recently managed the successful liquidation
of Friedman's Jewelers.
"We're currently experiencing the most active period of
liquidation sales in 10 years, due to a combination of consumer cut
backs on peripheral spending, tightening of retail lenders and a
change in bankruptcy code," added James L. Schaye, president and CEO
of Hudson Capital Partners. "Whitehall, which represents the latest
jewelry retailer effected by this combination, has long been a
landmark for consumers who appreciate high quality fine jewelry. The
liquidation sale will provide a final opportunity to take advantage of
great product at extraordinary value."
Whitehall Jewelers Holdings, Inc. and its operating subsidiary
Whitehall Jewelers, Inc. have been operating under Chapter 11 of the
Bankruptcy Code since June 23, 2008 (U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District
of Delaware, Case #C8-11261 (CSS)).
"Whitehall has a fine reputation, and we will work to make the
sale successful for all parties involved," said William Weinstein,
Principal of Gordon Brothers Group.
About Whitehall Jewelers Holdings, Inc.
Whitehall Jewelers is a national specialty retailer of fine
jewelry offering a selection of merchandise in the following
categories: diamonds, gold, precious and semi-precious jewelry and
watches. As of June 23, 2008, it operated 373 stores in regional and
super-regional malls in 39 states, including 78 locations that were
acquired in April 2008 from Friedman's Jewelers. Whitehall was
originally founded in 1895 under the name Marks Bros. Jewelers.
About Great American Group
Based in Woodland Hills, California, with offices in Chicago, New
York, Philadelphia, Boston and Atlanta, Great American Group
(www.greatamerican.com; 800-85-GREAT) provides liquidation services,
auctions, wind-down services, appraisals, valuations and related
services, and intellectual property acquisitions. The Company's
services focus on turning excess inventory into immediate cash through
strategic retail store-closings and wholesale and industrial
liquidations.
About Hudson Capital Partners, LLC
Hudson Capital Partners, LLC offers an extensive array of
professional solutions to the challenges retailers face today,
including management of excess, obsolete and discontinued inventory,
changing geographic and demographic circumstances, unproductive store
sites, and real estate and liquidity issues. The firm's diversified
staff is experienced at performing strategic store closings and
relocations, fixed asset dispositions, wholesale inventory buyouts and
lease mitigations. To learn more about Hudson Capital Partners, please
visit www.hudsoncpl.com.
About Silverman Jeweler Consultants, Inc.
Silverman provides a variety of services to jewelry related
retailers, manufacturers, wholesalers and distributors. The core of
its business is effectively and efficiently liquidating jewelry
inventories for both healthy and distressed companies. For more
information, please visit the company's website at
www.silvermanconsultants.com.
About Gordon Brothers Group, LLC
Founded in 1903, Gordon Brothers Group (www.GordonBrothers.com) is
a global advisory, restructuring and investment firm specializing in
retail and consumer products, industrial and real estate sectors.
Gordon Brothers Group maximizes value for both healthy and distressed
companies by purchasing or selling all categories of assets,
appraising assets, providing debt financing, making private equity
investments, and operating businesses for extended periods.
Berns Communications Group, LLC
Stacy Berns/Melissa Jaffin, 212-994-4660
mjaffin@bcg-pr.com
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