Friedman’s Begins Liquidation Sale

-- JCK-Jewelers Circular Keystone, 4/5/2008 5:18:00 PM

Friedman’s Inc., which operates 455 retail jewelry stores under the Friedman’s and Crescent brands, has begun liquidating about $400 million of inventory in 377 stores.

The U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware approved Friedman's request to close the stores and start liquidation. Friedman’s, in a statement, said it is currently in negotiations with an interested third party to sell its 78 remaining locations. This third party is identified in court documents as WFC Acquisition Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Whitehall Jewelers Holdings, Inc.

The liquidation of inventory began Saturday. The company said approximately $400 million in inventory will be liquidated at below market prices in a sale that is expected to last approximately 10-12 weeks. Merchandise to be sold will include women’s and men’s fine and fashion jewelry, featuring diamonds, other precious stones, gold and silver, as well as a wide selection of watches. The liquidation sale will involve 377 Friedman’s and Crescent store locations in 23 southeastern, southwestern and mid-western states.

The Friedman’s sale is being managed by a consulting group consisting of three leading national retail liquidation and asset recovery firms: Great American Group, LLC; Hudson Capital Partners, LLC; and Silverman Jeweler Consultants, Inc.

Friedman’s store locations to hold liquidation sales:

* Alabama: (Alexander City, Bay Minette, Birmingham, Brewton, Clanton, Coleman, Enterprise, Eufaula, Foley, Ft Payne, Oneonta, Pell City, Prattville, Tuscaloosa)

* Arkansas: (Batesville, Blytheville, Conway, Fort Smith, Paragould, Searcy, Van Buren)

* Delaware: (Seaford)

* Florida: (Bradenton, Brandon, Chiefland, Clermont, Deland, Fernandina Beach, Ft Walton Beach, Gainesville, Jacksonville, Kissimmee, Lakeland, Leesburg, MacClenny, Marianna, Melbourne, Orlando, Panama City, Port St. Lucie, St. Augustine, St. Petersburg, Starke, Tallahassee, Tampa)

* Georgia: (Americus, Athens, Augusta, Calhoun, Carrollton, Cedartown, Centerville, Columbus, Conyers, Cordele, Cornelia, Covington, Dalton, Decatur, Douglas, Douglasville, Dublin, East Point, Fayetteville, Fitzgerald, Ft Oglethorpe, Garden City, Griffin, Hartwell, Hinesville, Hiram, Jesup, Lawrenceville, Lithonia, Macon, Milledgeville, Morrow, Rome, Sandersville, Savannah, Stockbridge, Swainsboro, Thomaston, Thomasville, Thomson, Tucker, Villa Rica, Winder, Woodstock)

* Illinois: (Danville)

* Indiana: (Anderson, Bedford, Clarksville, Columbus, Corydon, Evansville, Greensburg, Greenwood, Seymour, Vincennes)

* Kentucky: (Ashland, Bardstown, Campbellsville, Danville, Elizabethtown, Georgetown, Glasgow, Hazard, Jackson, Lexington, London, Louisville, Maysville, Middlesboro, Mt. Sterling, Paris, Pikeville, Prestonsburg, Richmond, Shepherdsville)

* Louisiana: (Abbeville, Alexandria, Baton Rouge, Bossier City, Cut Off, Gonzales, Hammond, Kenner, Lafayette, Leesville, Monroe, Natchitoches, Opelousas, Ruston, Slidell, Thibodaux, Walker, Zachary)

* Maryland: (Easton, Elkton, Glen Burnie, Hagerstown, Salisbury)

* Mississippi: (Brookhaven, Gautier, Gulfport, Jackson, Lucedale, Meridian, Philadelphia, Picayune, Richland, Senatobia, Southaven, Starkville, Wiggins)

* North Carolina: (Albemarle, Durham, Elizabeth City, Fayetteville, Forest City, Garner, Gastonia, Greensboro, Henderson, Hickory, High Point, Laurinburg, Lumberton, Marion, Monroe, Mooresville, Morehead City, Morganton, Mt. Airy, Murphy, Raleigh, Rockingham, Roxboro, Sanford, Shallotte, Siler City, Smithfield, Southern Pines, Southport, Thomasville, Washington, Waynesville, Wilmington, Wilson, Zebulon,)

* Ohio: (Huber Heights, Mt. Vernon, New Boston, South Point, Wilmington)

* Oklahoma: (Norman, Tulsa)

* South Carolina: (Aiken, Barnwell, Bluffton, Camden, Charleston, Columbia, Conway, Easley, Florence, Gaffney, Georgetown, Greenville, Greenwood, Greer, Lancaster, Laurens, Lexington, Moncks Corner, N. Charleston, Newberry, North Augusta, Rock Hill, Seneca, Simpsonville, Spartanburg, Summerville, Walterboro, West Columbia, York)

* Tennessee: (Alcoa, Athens, Chattanooga, Clarksville, Cookeville, Dyersburg, Gallatin, Greeneville, Hixson, Jacksboro, Johnson City, Knoxville, Lafayette, Lebanon, Lenoir City, Madisonville, Morristown, Rockwood, Smyrna)

* Texas: (Beaumont, Copperas Cove, Early, Gainesville, Granbury, Grand Prairie, Greenville, Jacksonville, Killeen, Lewisville, Longview, Lufkin, Marshall, Mexia, Mt. Pleasant, Palestine, Paris, Plano, San Antonio, Selma, Texarkana, Victoria, Waco, Weatherford)

* Virginia: (Blackstone, Charlottesville, Chesapeake, Chester, Colonial Heights, Culpeper, Farmville, Fredericksburg, Front Royal, Lynchburg, Madison Heights, Manassas, Martinsville, Midlothian, Petersburg, Richmond, South Hill, Stafford, Staunton, Virginia Beach, Warrenton, Winchester, Wise, Wytheville)

* West Virginia: (Bluefield, Lewisburg, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Princeton, South Charleston, Summersville)

Crescent store locations to hold liquidation sales:

* Arizona: (Bullhead City, Lake Havasu City, Mesa, Nogales, Phoenix, Prescott, Tucson)

* California: (Antioch, Arcadia, Bakersfield, Banning, Buena Park, Carlsbad, Carson, Citrus Heights, Clovis, Concord, Culver City, Daly City, Delano, Downey, El Cajon, El Centro, Fontana, Gilroy, Huntington Park, Lompoc, Los Angeles, Madera, Manteca, Milpitas, Montclair, Montebello, Moreno Valley, Napa, Newark, Orange, Porterville, Rancho Cucamonga, Richmond, Rohnert Park, Salinas, San Bruno, San Diego, San Jose, Santa Clara, Santa Rosa, Selma, Stockton, Tulare, Turlock, Vacaville, Vallejo, Ventura, Visalia, West Covina, Yuba City)

* Nevada: (Carson City, Las Vegas, Pahrump)