Leslie’s is seeking emergency approval to liquidate 12 specialty hot tub stores and a warehouse, arguing that high occupancy costs are eroding the locations’ profits as the pool supplies retailer refocuses on its core businesses.
Judge Alfredo Perez is scheduled to consider the request tomorrow, 13 November, at 4pm CT in the US Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, alongside approval of the company’s disclosure statement.
The 11 November motion seeks authority to engage Gordon Brothers Retail Partners to oversee closing sales at stores in Louisiana, Florida and Pennsylvania, plus a Louisiana warehouse. The company operates approximately 900 retail locations nationwide and says the targeted stores sell specialty products, including hot tubs, outdoor furniture and billiards, that fall outside its go-forward strategy.
The proposed sales would turn inventory and fixtures into cash while clearing the way to shed occupancy costs, according to a declaration of CFO Jeff White in support of the motion. Existing liens would attach to sale proceeds with the same force and priority, subject to the debtors’ and other parties’ rights and defenses. Treatment of the affected leases would be addressed separately under previously approved procedures.
Leslie’s wants the sales to begin immediately following court...
