GILLIAN GROUP FILES CHAPTER 11 TO LIQUIDATE ST. GILLIAN, BICHON
Byline:
NEW YORK — Six weeks after it shut its doors, The Gillian Group has filed liquidating Chapter 11 petitions in bankruptcy court here.
The two filings, one for St. Gillian Sportswear Ltd. and the other for Bichon Apparel Ltd., both doing business as The Gillian Group, were made less than a month after three creditors filed an involuntary Chapter 7 petition against A.J. Bari Inc., an affiliated company.
Robert A. Abrams, of Angel & Frankel, counsel to Gillian, has successfully converted the involuntary petition to Chapter 11.
Jon R. Levy, president, said in court papers he made the filing to retain possession of the company during liquidation.
St. Gillian listed assets, as of Sept. 30, of $17.21 million and liabilities of $24.44 million, including roughly $7.11 million in unsecured debt. Bichon, an affiliate, listed assets of $818,231 and liabilities of $14.3 million, all but $1.67 million secured.
Gillian, whose rapid demise took many on Seventh Avenue by surprise, suffered from the “economic downturn which caused consumers to reduce spending,” Levy said in court papers.
Largest unsecured creditors of St. Gillian include: ILGWU Local 23-25, owed $712,784; Forstman & Co., Philadelphia, $568,343; Guide Fabrics, $103,127; B.A.W. Fashions, $88,103; Q-Plus Co., $78,254, and Refine Fashion Empress, $73,819. The same ILGWU local, with a claim of $125,810, was Bichon’s largest unsecured creditor.
As reported, the Gillian and A.J. Bari trade names are on the block, although no bids have been received. Any offer is subject to higher or better bids. The trade names are the only remaining assets of Gillian, whose secured claims far outweigh assets, leaving no expectation of any payout to the trade. — Fairchild News Service