Sunny’s Great Outdoors To Liquidate…

March 5, 2007
SGB Update

Sunny’s Great Outdoors filed for bankruptcy in early February and is closing the majority of its doors, according to court documents. The Elkridge-MD-based retailer operates 15 stores around the Mid-Atlantic region and employs 150 full-time and part-time workers.

“The unseasonably warm fall and winter seasons wreaked havoc on…sales,” Sunny’s said in a filing. The document, according to the Baltimore Sun, also said holiday sales “fell below all levels of reasonable expectation,” forcing the bankruptcy.

On January 26, Sunny’s retained Keen Realty, LLC to assist with the disposition of 13 of the company’s leasehold interests located in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia. Liquidation sales began on February 3rd and are expected to be complete by March 31. After the liquidation, Sonny’s said it will “determine whether it can revive its business in a smaller format.”

Sunny’s owes its 20 largest unsecured creditors a total of nearly $1.1 million, according to the bankruptcy filing. Among those making it on the list of top-twenty creditors were Advo, Williamson-Dickie, Hi-Tec Sports USA and the Boy and Girl Scouts of America. The store was a big seller of scout uniforms.

Originally named Sunny's Surplus, the company began in 1948 with a store at Baltimore and Eutaw streets in downtown Baltimore. Named after one of its first managers, Sunny's targeted customers with military surplus from the war. The business began to grow, adding to its inventory and increasing the number of stores in the decades that followed to 26. But the growth proved too ambitious for the small business, and in 1997, Sunny's filed for Chapter 11 protection and closed several locations. The company emerged from bankruptcy 13 months later. Its 2006 sales were approximately $11 million, according to court documents.

Last year, Sunny's worked to reduce overhead costs and increase sales to keep up with competitors such as REI and Dick's Sporting Goods, according to the court documents. But the unusually warm weather hindered sales, leaving Sunny's to face “mounting debt and a severe liquidity crisis,” the documents say.

Sunny's CEO, Ben Gilbert, was not available for comment.

Sunny’s Great Outdoors To Liquidate

February 26, 2007
SGB Update

Sunny’s Great Outdoors filed for bankruptcy in early February and is closing its doors, according to court documents. The Elkridge-MD-based retailer operates 13 stores around the Mid-Atlantic region and employs 150 full-time and part-time workers.

“The unseasonably warm fall and winter seasons wreaked havoc on…sales,” Sunny’s said in a filing. The document, according to the Baltimore Sun, also said holiday sales “fell below all levels of reasonable expectation,” forcing the bankruptcy.

Sunny’s said it owes its 20 largest unsecured creditors a total of nearly $1.1 million, according to the filing. Among those making it on the list of top-twenty creditors were Advo, Williamson Dickie, Hi-Tec Sports USA and the Boy and Girl Scouts of America.

On January 26, Sunny’s retained Keen Realty, LLC to assist with the disposition of the company’s 13 retail leasehold interests located in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.
Liquidation sales began on February 3rd and are expected to be complete by March 31. After the liquidation, Sonny’s said it will “determine whether it can revive its business in a smaller format.”

Originally named Sunny's Surplus, the company began in 1948 with a store at Baltimore and Eutaw streets in downtown Baltimore. Named after one of its first managers, Sunny's targeted customers with military surplus from the war. The business began to grow, adding to its inventory and increasing the number of stores in the decades that followed. But the growth proved too ambitious for the small business, and in 1997, Sunny's filed for Chapter 11 protection. The company emerged from bankruptcy 13 months later. Its 2006 sales were about $11 million, according to court documents.

Last year, Sunny's worked to reduce overhead costs and increase sales to keep up with competitors such as REI and Dick's Sporting Goods, according to the court documents. But the unusually warm weather hindered sales, leaving Sunny's to face “mounting debt and a severe liquidity crisis,” the documents say.

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