By: Michael McGrail

With 21 major retailers filing for bankruptcy protection, 2017 went down as the busiest year for filings since The Great Recession. Working alone or with partners, our firm ran liquidation sales for Gander Mountain, Gordmans, RadioShack, MC Sports, Vanity, Sears Canada and hhgregg, to name a few. We also entered into multiple private deals involving undisclosed retailers, virtually all of which were household […]

At first glance, it might seem that national sporting goods chains should have the wind at their backs: U.S. personal income is expected to rise or hold through 2017, and researchers at Morgan Stanley cite dramatic growth in sports participation in North America, particularly among young people. According to IBIS World, in fact, the compound annual growth rate of the retail sporting goods market will […]

Apparel retailers targeting tweens and teens are taking a big hit. While we have already seen filings from the likes of Cache, Wet Seal, dELiA*s and Deb Shops, this is likely just the beginning of a larger trend. Amid dwindling sales at many (but not quite all) tween and teen-focused chains, the sector is positioned for further consolidation and additional filings.
In the heyday of the […]

U.S. consumers love gift cards. According to research firm CEB Tower Group, Americans loaded approximately $124 billion onto gift cards in 2014 alone. However, it is easy to see why, in the ABL world, the estate tends to regard gift cards as nothing to celebrate. After all, from the unsecured creditors’ perspective, accepting gift cards during the course of a liquidation sale is tantamount to […]