Mover Mike

Sun Capital is going backwards! In 2000 Nationwide Mattress and Furniture Warehouse known as Nationwide Warehouse & Storage had 160 stores in the U.S. and Canada. Sun Capital acquired the majority stake in a trimmed down 63-store Nationwide in 2002 in a deal valued at $10.7 million. Six years later, Great American Group’s furniture division will take over operations in about a week and liquidate the Nationwide business.

Wheeling, Ill.-based Wickes Furniture, another early Sun Capital buy, also has been struggling and recently sent asks its suppliers to sign a “vendor modification agreement,” that would defer payments of past-due debt for 18 months. The letter said a new $10 million equity investment, hinged on the concessions.

These are a few of the Sun Capital investments:

American Standard America
Anchor Blue Retail Group
BERKLINE BENCHCRAFT HOLDINGS, LLC
Catalina Lighting
Chrysler Holdings
Conex Bänninger
Crane plumbing
Eljer
GMAC FINANCIAL SERVICES
INTERFACEFABRIC
Lee Cooper
Lexington Home Brands
Mervyns

Sun Capital has a heavy investment in furniture, apparel, restaurants and plumbing. All heavily consumer dependent.

Sun Capital Nationwide Mattress and Furniture Warehouse Wickes Furniture

It didn't take a month!

I posted on January 8th that Wickes was seeking help from vendors"

Wickes Furniture is asking suppliers to sign an agreement that would postpone the retailer’s payment of its past-due debt until July 2009.

Apparently, they didn't get the needed response for today Wickes has filed Chapter 11.

Wickes Holdings, parent company of Wickes Furniture, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, listing assets of $10 million to $50 million and debts of more than $50 million.

The second major Chapter 11 filing was done for Fortunoff:

Fortunoff, a shopping institution on Long Island for decades, said Monday it has filed for bankruptcy protection and agreed to be acquired for $100 million by the owners of Lord & Taylor, the second change in ownership for the Westbury-based home furnishing and jewelry chain in the past two years.

Some say Fortunoff was getting squeezed, others blame the economy and the subprime mess on Long Island.

...several factors had led to Fortunuff's decline in recent years, including a failure to expand and competition from outlets like Bed Bath & Beyond, and even Wal-Mart, which sells jewelry.

Now, what generally happens is the filers' debt gets wiped out, they lower their costs to be competitive and that puts others on the edge who must seek chapter 11 to wipe out debt.

Chapter 11 Wickes Sun Capital

Fortunoff Mover Mike