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Court approves Christian Bernard liquidation sale

January 19, 2009

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Secaucus, N.J.--A court has approved a plan for the complete liquidation of bankrupt Christian Bernard Stores Corp.'s assets, according to a media release issued on Friday.

Under the terms of the plan, presented to the U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the District of New Jersey in Newark, N.J., by attorney Charles Forman, trustee for the company, Christian Bernard will re-open its stores within the next few days.

A joint venture composed of Boston-based Tiger Capital, The Gordon Co. of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., New York-based SB Capital Group and Bobby Wilkerson Inc. of Stuttgart, Ark., will operate Christian Bernard during the inventory and asset liquidation sales, scheduled for all store locations starting on Jan. 20, according to the release.

As trustee, Forman will oversee the re-opening of the stores and management of the liquidation sales in accordance with the court ruling.

Forman has seen that all Christian Bernard employees were paid their back wages and will rehire a number of the associates to work through the liquidation sales.

"One of the first things the liquidators will do is to identify everyone who had items at the stores and make arrangements to return their goods," Forman said in the release. "We will do everything in our power to make things right for Christian Bernard customers."

According to the release, Christian Bernard's board of directors abruptly closed the chain's 15 stores and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy on Dec. 26, leaving employees with no jobs or paychecks and customers with no word on their merchandise.

The company cited a "precipitous fall in consumer spending" that led to the chain's retail shops "underperforming" and a lender advising the chain it may not renew its current lines of credit, according to the voluntary petition filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the case.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy typically leads to liquidation, as opposed to Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, which frees a company from the threat of creditors' lawsuits while it reorganizes.

According to the petition, Christian Bernard possesses estimated assets of $10 million to $50 million but also has an estimated $10 million to $50 million in liabilities on its books.

The chain estimates that funds will be able to pay its unsecured creditors, which number between 200 and 999 and include companies such as Dalumi Diamonds, Hearts On Fire and Leo Schachter Diamonds, the petition states.

Christian Bernard operates 15 stores in eight states, including Connecticut, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia as well as in Washington, D.C., according to National Jeweler's 2008 State of the Majors report.

The chain is listed as No. 38 on National Jeweler's Top 50 list of the largest jewelry chains in North America by store count.
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