[Update as of Sept. 4, 2024] UK retailer Mountain Warehouse has been approved to acquire seven Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) stores after no other offers followed the chain’s August 2023 $5 million stalking horse bid, multiple sources report. The stores will continue to operate under the EMS banner.
EMS was part of the July 2024 bankruptcy of GoDigital Media Group, which also owned Bob’s Stores.
[Update as of July 3, 2024] GoDigital Media Group, parent company of Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports, has announced that all 21 Bob’s Stores locations will be closed and inventory liquidated after a Chapter 11 restructuring failed to secure the financing needed to continue operations. Hilco Merchant Resources in partnership with Gordon Brothers will manage the liquidation of the stores, which are located in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York and Rhode Island.
“We regret that our financial position necessitated the liquidation of Bob’s Stores,” said Dave Barton, President of Bob’s Stores in a statement. “Bob’s has been a stalwart of our local communities for nearly 70 years, and we know our customers remember us as having been there for major moments in their lives. We remain grateful to our vendors, suppliers, customers and employees for all of their support over the years.”
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Liquidation sales at Bob’s began June 28, 2024 and all gift cards and merchandise credits will be honored through the close of business on July 14, local time.
Original story from June 21, 2024 begins-
Bob’s EMS Holdings, parent company of Bob’s Stores and Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS), has filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. The retailers, which operate a total of about 50 stores and employ nearly 800 full- and part-time employees, generated $131.85 million in net revenue last year, according to CEO David Barton in documents filed with the court.
The filing was precipitated by PNC Bank declaring the retailer defaulted on its loans on March 29, 2024. Bob’s EMS owes PNC $29.4 million, in addition to obligations to landlords and suppliers totaling nearly $27 million. The retailer needs an immediate cash infusion to meet its payroll obligations; according to the filing, it owes employees approximately $935,000 — more than the average bi-weekly payroll of $770,000.
Frasers Group, which had purchased the retailers in April 2017 for $101 million in cash when the company faced an earlier bankruptcy, sold them for $70 million to GoDigital Media Group in May 2022.
At press time, the Bob’s website was “under construction,” while the EMS site advertised “everything on sale.”
