Following Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceedings involving its parent company, Gramicci has undergone a restructuring process that replaced the companys sales force, outsourced the majority of its production, and restructured the majority of the companys back office. The efforts should put the company “firmly in the black” after posting nearly a $7 million loss last year.
The Buxbaum Group was involved heavily in the process and provided a line of credit to Gramicci. The group is known primarily as liquidators and appraisers of retail and wholesale inventories, but has recently become involved in turnaround investing, specialty financing, and turnaround, expansion, and downsizing strategies. Gramiccis previous parent company, Sole Survivor, also held a line of credit with Buxbaum, but was unable to service its debt load. Subsequently, the group was forced to foreclose on the loan. Sole Survivor was then pushed into Chapter 7 bankruptcy and its assets were sold to Sole Assets Holdings, LLC. According to Arnold Rubenstein, who was appointed president and CEO of Sole Assets, Sole Assets is owned by Buxbaum and other investors, while Sole Survivor was owned by an “independent party.”
Before the restructuring, roughly 80% of Gramiccis product was manufactured in the U.S. The company stated that production and shipping delays led to charge-backs and cancellations, which in turn hurt Sole Survivors bottom line. Now, 80% of Gramiccis production is done off-shore, which should cut costs and improve delivery. Rubenstein told BOSS that Gramicci made “considerable progress” over the last 11 months with Marty Weening heading up the design team and Joe Dessinger heading sales. Currently, Gramicci is the only brand under the Sole Assets umbrella, but Rubenstein said that he may look at acquiring others or starting new brands as SA re-establishes itself.
