( courtesy of Bloomberg ) - Shoe Pavilion Inc., the West Coast shoe retailer, won an emergency bankruptcy court order allowing it to hire liquidators to close all its stores after going-out- of-business sales.
The discount retailer entered bankruptcy in July after five straight quarterly losses and will close its last 64 stores, it said in a statement. Ten to 12 weeks of sales will be run by a joint venture group of Great American Group LLC, SB Capital Group LLC, Tiger Capital Group LLC and Hudson Capital Partners.
``Consumers will benefit from the extreme discounts on every item in the stores until all the merchandise is sold,'' Danny Kane, managing member of Tiger Capital Group, said in a statement.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Maureen Tighe approved the liquidation order Oct. 17. Gordon Brothers Retail Partners LLC was outbid for the task.
Shoe Pavilion expects the sales to bring in $36.3 million, the company said in court papers. Under a sharing agreement with the liquidators, it is to receive 27.7 percent of the retail price of the liquidated merchandise and 75 percent of the proceeds from sales of furniture, fixtures and equipment.
Leaseholders at some of Shoe Pavilion's locations objected to the liquidation, saying the company was in default under its leases.
Shoe Pavilion, based in Sherman Oaks, California, joined retailers such as Steve & Barry's LLC, Levitz Furniture Inc. and Sharper Image Corp. in seeking bankruptcy protection as U.S. consumers struggle with falling home values and rising energy costs.
Shoe Pavilion was unchanged at 2 cents in Nasdaq Stock Market trading yesterday.
The case is Shoe Pavilion Inc., 08-14939, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Central District of California (Woodland Hills).
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