Another one bites the dust as Connecticut-based bath and body label Crabtree & Evelyn filed for Chapter 11 in Manhattan yesterday. The luxe body brand, known for its Old English packaging and signature vintage scents, said the bankruptcy filing is necessary in order to, “pursue a plan of reorganization to capitalize on opportunities for future growth and profitability, including evaluation of its real estate portfolio, strengthening brand strategies and restructuring of its financial obligations.” The U.S. outpost of the company revealed the extent of its troubles a few days ago with the June 29th financial reports. According to the end of month reports, Crabtree, which has about 950 employees in the U.S., owed $4.1 million to trade vendors and $790,124 to landlords on leases for its retail stores. The firm’s top three creditors to whom the company owes debt include: Standard Soap, Leicestershire, England, $807,068; former chief executive officer Michael Stromberg, Cincinnati, $395,000, and Vera Bradley Designs, Carol Stream, Ill., $288,884.
Stephen Bestwick, acting president since April 2009, cited operational
issues for the fiscal flubs, such as changes in management that resulted in strategy shifts
and inability to renegotiate lease terms for many of its retail sites
as some of the reasons for the filing. However, the company's overseas affiliates of the Crabtree & Evelyn Group, including those in
Canada, Europe, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and Australia, have not
filed for bankruptcy court protection so only the American affiliate will be affected during this process. Yet despite the $46.2 million in assets and $47.8 million in liabilities that need to be dealt with in the process, The company assured all operations, including its wholesale activities and
e-commerce site, will remain in operation during its bankruptcy.
YES! I LOOK FORWARD TO #GROWINGYOUNGER
PLEASE SUBSCRIBE ME TO YOUR MAILING LIST.
Article Source: WWD
Photo Source: crabtreeanevelyn,sfgate
-Alia Rajput
