Fortunoff Loose Diamonds Auction Recovers 73% of Cost
July 02, 09
The auction of Fortunoff's 70 pointers and smaller loose diamonds recovered 73 percent of the cost, diamond and jewelry liquidation firm SimplexDiam Inc. announced. The company did not disclose the total value of the auction, however the goods were valued at about $1 million prior to the auction.
Fortunoff Holdings, LLC filled for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February. According to court filings, it owes the industry more than $6 million. The top industry creditor is Michael Werdiger Inc., owed $992,232.
The fallen jewelry and housewares retailer listed in its February 5 filing 1,000-5,000 creditors, assets of $100 - $500 million, and liabilities of $100 - $500 million. An affiliate company included in the filing is Fortunoff Card Company, LLC.
“One has to remember that this isn't a going-out-of-business sale, it's an auction to the trade,” said SimplexDiam CEO Yogesh Madhvani about the loose diamond auction held this week. “These aren't certified stones, they're 70 pointers down. Both the bidders and the estate seem quite happy with the result.”
A court-ordered liquidation sale was held in March at all 20 stores operated by Fortunoff. Hundreds of shoppers rushed to the stores, many to use their gift cards before they become worthless.
Fortunoff’s intellectual property assets, including trademarks, domain names and customer databases, as well as toll free 800 numbers, training materials, knowledge databases and IT systems were planed to be auctioned as well.
The primary IP assets for sale include more than 70 registered trademarks such as, Fortunoff, The Source, Prime Time, Oxford Hall, FSS and Avignon; more than 75 domain names including Fortunoff.com, fortunoffbrides.com and fortunoffjewelry.com.