VF Outdoor, Wolverine World Wide, Carhartt and Under Armour were among those left with the largest unpaid bills in the bankruptcy case of Eastern Outfitters, the parent of Eastern Mountain Sports (EMS) and Bob’s Stores.
The list of the top 40 unsecured creditors included a number of outdoor brands with EMS operating 61 locations versus 34 for Bob’s, which offers value-oriented footwear, apparel and work wear with a big fan apparel business. A few companies owned brands that sold to both chains.
Leading the list was VF Outdoor, which was owed $768,837. VF Outdoor owns The North Face, Vans and Timberland as well as a number of smaller brands such as Jansport and Smartwool. Wolverine World Wide, which owns Merrell, Sperry, Wolverine, Saucony and Keds, was owed $635,607.
Third on the list was Carhartt, owed $615,998; followed by Under Armour, $582,119; and Confluence Watersports, $373,657; to round out the top five unsecured trade creditors.
In the bankruptcy of Vestis Retail, which owned EMS and Bob’s as well as Sport Chalet in April 2016, Vestis’ largest trade creditors were Nike, owed $7.3 million; Under Armour Inc., $2.7 million; Wolverine World Wide, $1.9 million; and The North Face, $1.6 million.
In Sunday’s new filing, trade creditors owed between $150,000 and $300,000 included K2 Corp., holding a $272,041 unsecured claim; Hanesbrands, owed $197,619; Fownes Performance Group, the glove manufacturer, $171,843; Marmot, $167,239; Kahtoola, the crampon specialist, $159,333; and Dan Post Boot Co., $157,580.
A number of apparel firms landed lower on the unsecured creditors list. These include Seirus Innovation, $112,109; Fila Sports, $110,277; Wrangler, another VF Corp. company, $88,577; Moose Creek, $86,519; Life is Good, $64,779; Williamson-Dickie Mfg., $63,524; Pacific Teaze, $63,381, and Forty Seven Brand, the fan apparel specialist, $61,268.
Agron, which holds the exclusive license holder for Adidas accessories and distributes Adidas Outdoor in the U.S., was owed $$75,925. Among footwear suppliers, Asolo USA was owed $80,788 and Keen, $58,993.
In the hosiery and sock space, Fox River Mills was owed $133,781; Renfro Corp., $112,172; and Royce Too, $64,156. Among accessories providers, Randa Accessories Leather Goods was owed $100,230; Camelback Products, $94,872; and Liberty Mountain Sports, $62,518. Also listed as trade was Broad Factors Corp., based in New York City, owed $71,435.
Non-trade unsecured creditors landing on the top-40 list included Google, $646,359; Applos Inc., $413,242; Valassis Direct Mail, $407,197;UPS, $221,107; Demandware, $173,043; WIS International, $127,172; Centrimark Corp., $95,543; Klehr Harrison Harvey Branzburg, $66,344; Dimension Data, $63,796; Crete Corp., $61,268; and Clickmail, $59,999.
Photo courtesy EMS
