Report: Winner Emerges in Fortunoff Auction

Updated: 11:39 p.m.

By JCK Online Staff -- JCK Online, 2/24/2009 1:53:00 PM

The liquidation of luxury jewelry and home furnishings retailer Fortunoff Holdings LLC will begin Wednesday after a group of seven liquidators won a bankruptcy auction for the company, Reuters reports.

U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain of the Southern District of New York approved the arrangement Tuesday after the joint venture beat out a bid from a rival liquidator group.

Liquidators Great American Group, Hudson Capital Partners, SB Capital Group, Tiger Capital Group, Kimco Realty Services, and jewelry liquidators Bobby Wilkerson Inc. and The Gordon Co. had made the winning bid at a bankruptcy auction for the company on Monday, Reuters reports. They are planning to begin going-out-of-business sales on Wednesday.

They beat out Hilco Consumer Capital and Gordon Brothers Group who submitted their bid Sunday night, in advance of the Monday auction.

The winning liquidators guaranteed Fortunoff would receive 88.8 percent of the cost value of the merchandise they sell, while lawyers for Fortunoff said in court that the other bid had only guaranteed 77 percent of the value, Reuters reports.

The liquidators also agreed to allow customers who have returned merchandise before Wednesday to use their store credit through March 8, Reuters reports.

Fortunoff filed for bankruptcy Feb. 5. It was the second time the company filed for bankruptcy in about a year’s time. It is owned by NRDC Equity Partners, the owner of the Lord & Taylor department store chain.