Word: bonwit
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...investment, the retailing industry has the look of a losing bet. In just the past few months, hard times or bankruptcy has befallen such legendary stores as B. Altman, Bonwit Teller, Bloomingdale's and Abraham & Straus. Yet this prominent list of casualties failed to dampen the bidding war that began last September when B.A.T. Industries of London decided to sell Saks Fifth Avenue, one of the most prestigious U.S. retailing chains. At least four potential buyers vied for the richly profitable company (estimated 1989 earnings: $111 million), which has 45 stores in such locales as Manhattan, Beverly Hills, and Palm...
...companies do not have to file for Chapter 11 to lure the new vultures. "There are many shades of failure," says Sanford Sigoloff, a turnaround specialist who runs the bankrupt U.S. operations of Australia-based Hooker Corp., which owns the B. Altman and Bonwit Teller department-store chains. Such troubled but solvent corporations as Wang Laboratories, the Lowell, Mass., computer maker that laid off more than 1,500 workers last year, have hired "workout" advisers to help pare down their debt. By pursuing a workout instead of bankruptcy, management can maintain control of the company and generally reorganize faster. "There...
...have been through the takeover wars. The new heroes are turnaround specialists like Sanford Sigoloff. Long known as Ming the Merciless for his fierce cost cutting, Sigoloff now runs the bankrupt U.S. operations of Australia-based Hooker Corp., which loaded up on debt to acquire the B. Altman and Bonwit Teller department-store chains...
...immigrated to Australia, made a fortune as a homebuilder and became famous for his flashy style. (His mansion is designed to look like Tara in Gone With the Wind.) He decided that U.S. retailing was a glamorous and growing business, so his Hooker Corp. bought B. Altman and the Bonwit Teller chain, which has grown to 17 stores, for $150 million...
...forced last month to relinquish control of his retailing empire and put the 17-store Bloomingdale's chain up for sale. In August Australian raider George Herscu put his U.S. retailing subsidiary into bankruptcy after becoming overwhelmed by its $1.2 billion takeover debt. Herscu may well have to sell Bonwit Teller (stores: 16) and B. Altman (7), which he acquired...