Judge Approves Order to Liquidate All Nine West Canada Stores
(TORONTO, Ontario) – April 13, 2018 – A Canadian Bankruptcy Court judge issued an order Wednesday approving the liquidation of assets and the closing of all 35 locations of Nine West Canada. Nine West Canada LP and its General Partner Jones Canada, Inc. (together, “Nine West Canada” or the “Company”) each had previously filed a Notice of Intention to File a Proposal (“NOI”) under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act (“BIA”).
The Order approved an exclusive consulting agreement with SB360 Capital Partners, LLC (“SB360”), one of North America’s largest liquidation and advisory companies. SB360 will assist with the liquidation and the orderly wind-down of the 35 Nine West Canada stores in Ontario, Manitoba, Quebec, Alberta, British Columbia and Nova Scotia, as well as the Company’s ecommerce site at www.ninewest.ca.
Nine West Canada’s U.S. parent company and licensor, together with various U.S. Nine West entities, also filed for protection under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code on April 6, 2018. Nine West Canada is the exclusive distributor in Canada of women’s footwear and accessories bearing certain trademarks owned by the U.S. Nine West entities.
The Nine West stores across Canada will begin a liquidation sale Saturday, April 14. Discounts off the original price will be offered storewide. In addition to the stock on-hand, the stores will continue to receive new product from the distribution center. All inventory, including new arrivals, will be discounted. Discounts will also be applicable to purchases made at www.ninewest.ca.
Aaron Miller, Executive Vice President of SB360 said “The Nine West stores, and all of the various Nine West brands, have incredible name recognition. Because of that, we know the Nine West customer will see the value when they visit the stores. This final store closing event will give customers an opportunity to take advantage of never before seen prices.”
“We’re planning aggressive discounts throughout the Store Closing Sale,” said Siegfried Schaffer, also an Executive Vice President of SB360. “A sale like this, with the value-added savings, is unprecedented in Nine West’s history. We encourage customers to take advantage while selection is best. The new arrivals are flowing, but they won’t last long at these prices.”
Nine West Canada sought protection under the BIA to permit it to effect an orderly wind-down of operations, liquidate its assets. The current retail environment, declining sales, and an unsustainable debt burden led Nine West Canada to conclude it was necessary to wind-down the retail operations throughout Canada.