A sign on the door of Salt Life’s flagship apparel store in Jacksonville Beach said Sept. 19 it is “temporarily closed,” three days after a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approved the sale of the retail chain to two brand management firms.
Iconix International Inc. and Hilco Merchant Resources Inc. are buying the brand and have not said anything publicly about their plans for the chain of 28 apparel stores.
However, court documents filed with their bid include procedures for store closing sales and the order signed Sept. 16 by U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein said Hilco is authorized to hold closing sales.
Representatives of Northbrook, Illinois-based Hilco did not respond to email and voice messages seeking information about its plans for Salt Life.
The Salt Life Food Shack restaurants have separate ownership from the apparel business and are not impacted by the bankruptcy court proceedings.
Salt Life’s parent company, Delta Apparel Inc., filed a Chapter 11 reorganization petition June 30 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The company said when it filed for Chapter 11 that it would sell the Salt Life chain to the highest bidder at a court auction.
Hilco and Iconix submitted the top bid of $38.74 million at an Aug. 27 court auction.
Duluth, Georgia-based Delta acquired Salt Life for $37 million in 2013.
The company expanded the apparel business which, it said in news releases, was “founded in 2003 by four avid watermen from Jacksonville Beach.”
Salt Life had sales of $25.9 million in the six months ended March 31, according to Delta’s most recent financial report.
The company which also sold merchandise under Delta and Soffe brands had total sales of $158.9 million in the six-month period but recorded an adjusted net loss of $24.2 million.
Delta said in court filings “a combination of reduced demand and difficulties obtaining raw materials have resulted in declining liquidity that Delta’s Board has been unable to counteract, despite their best efforts,” leading to the Chapter 11 filings.
When Delta filed for Chapter 11, it also filed notices under the Worker Adjustment Retraining and Notification Act saying its 15 Florida stores could close if no buyer was found.
The notice for Salt Life’s store at 240 S. Third St. in Jacksonville Beach said it has eight employees.
