Alpha Omega jewelry liquidation sales likely this weekend
Boston Herald, United States
Liquidation sales at the four Alpha Omega watch and jewelry store locations could begin as early as this weekend if a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge approves the winning bid for the Cambridge company’s assets at a hearing tomorrow.
A joint bid by Boston-based Tiger Capital Group, the Gordon Co. and SB Capital was the top offer for Alpha Omega’s assets during an auction that ended late Tuesday. Court approval would allow them to buy Alpha Omega’s $18 million in assets for 70.25 percent of their cost value, or $12.6 million.
In addition, the three companies have agreed to pay $125,000 for Alpha Omega’s leasehold rights and intellectual property, which includes the Alpha Omega name, according to Michael O’Hara, Alpha Omega’s outside chief restructuring officer.
O’Hara was appointed after Alpha Omega filed for Ch. 11 bankruptcy protection earlier this month with $31.6 million-plus in debt, following failed attempts to supplement luxury watch sales by branching into higher-margin fine jewelry.
“While we are disappointed at the price that we were able to sell the company for, under the circumstances, we were not surprised by the value we got,†O’Hara said.
O’Hara said a tough retail climate and widespread publicity about Alpha Omega owner Raman Handa’s decision to return to his native India prior to his company’s bankruptcy filing – without notice to his financial advisors – and a $6.3 million inventory discrepancy stifled interest in the company’s assets.
Cranston, R.I.-based jewelery chain Ross-Simons has agreed to take over the leases of at least two of Alpha Omega’s stores, which are located in Boston, Cambridge, Burlington and Natick. Ross-Simons will operate the stores under its own name once the liquidation sales end, which is expected to be in May. It also has pledged to interview Alpha Omega’s 100 employees for jobs at the two stores and its other existing stores or headquarters.
