[Just filed. Developing story.] April 11, 2023 – Privately-held AmeriMark Interactive, LLC and six affiliated debtors (together “AmeriMark Interactive” or the “Debtors”) filed for Chapter 11 protection with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware lead case No. 23-10438 (Judge TBA). The Debtors, "proud to be one of the largest multi-channel retailers [albeit within a purely "digital first," e-commerce context] targeting the mature market*," are represented by Derek C. Abbott of Morris, Nichols, Arsht & Tunnell LLP. Further Board authorized appointments include: (i) McDonald Hopkins LLC as general bankruptcy counsel, (ii) Riveron Management Services to provide a CRO, (iii) Consenus Advisory Services and Consensus Securities LLC as financial advisor and investment banker and (iv) Stretto as claims agent.
* See "About the Debtors," below.
The Debtors’ lead petition notes between 1 and 50 creditors; estimated assets between $0.0 and $50.0k; and estimated liabilities between $100.0mn and $500.0mn. Documents filed with the Court list the Debtors’ three largest unsecured creditors as (i) AmeriMark Holdings, LLC ($22.6mn promissory note claim), (ii) LSC Communications, Inc. ($7.7mn trade debt claim) and (iii) Fedex ($5.8mn trade debt claim). Each of the Debtors' top 30 unsecured creditors (mostly trade creditors) is owed in excess of $350k).
In Board minutes filed with the Debtors' lead Petition, the Debtors flag their intention to pursue a sale process and indicate that they have lined up DIP financing, without for the moment providing further details.
The Debtors are 100% owned by CSC Generation Holdings, Inc ("CSC") of Merrillville, Indiana. CSC, which while placing the Debtors into Chapter 11 with no assets and an impressive collection of trade creditors, notes as to itself: "We are not just savvy investors….We acquire overlooked store and catalog-based retailers and transform them into high performance, “digital first” brands through our proven omni-channel technology platform, operating expertise and scale.”
CSC Generation was founded as a joint venture between the famously reticent entrepreneur Justin Yoshimura (interesting background piece here) and Chinese private equity firm China Science & Merchants Investment Management Group in 2016.
Beginning in 2017, CSC has built up a portfolio of brands largely acquired in the bankruptcy context, including DirectBuy, Z Gallerie, One Kings Lane (from bed Bath & Beyond), Sur La Table and Home Consignment Center. In a slightly unusual "Investors" section on its website, CSC notes, inter alia, Khosla Ventures, Panasonic and Altos Ventures as investors and adds the smiling endorsements of “family office” investors including Niraj Shah of Wayfair; Christian Friedland of Build.com and Zappos's now deceased Tony Hsieh.
About the Debtors
According to the Debtors: “Amerimark Interactive is proud to be one of the largest multi-channel retailers targeting the mature market, and we are even prouder of our understanding of the needs of that consumer. Our company is passionate about giving our customers the shopping experience they deserve. Age is just a number…and everyone can do it gracefully. With that in mind, we strive to utilize all opportunities towards providing our customers with thoughtfully curated merchandise at the best values, beautifully presented with ease of accessibility and by the most pleasant customer solutions team.
Our fully integrated system offers a multi-channel experience in every visit to our websites, social media outlets, mobile connections, multimedia messaging and customer solutions communication. While we’ve advanced with the times and incorporated technology into our approach, we’ve listened to feedback and maintained production of our very popular print catalogs, making sure they are consistent with every other platform…and this is what sets us apart. Our internal shareholders are aligned in all that they do to give our external clients a seamless message, regardless of the channel they have used to approach us.“
The Debtors' brands include:
Corporate Structure
1. Debtor AmeriMark Interactive, LLC is 100% owned by CSC Generation Holdings, Inc.
2. Debtor AmeriMark Intermediate Sub, Inc. is 100% owned by Debtor AmeriMark Interactive, LLC.
3. Debtor L.T.D. Commodities LLC is 100% owned by Debtor AmeriMark Interactive, LLC.
4. Debtor AMDRL Holdings is 100% owned by Debtor AmeriMark Intermediate Sub, Inc.
5. Debtor AmeriMark Intermediate Holdings, LLC is 100% owned by Debtor AMDRL Holdings, Inc.
6. Debtor AmeriMark Direct LLC is 100% owned by Debtor AmeriMark Intermediate Holdings, LLC.
7. Debtor Dr. Leonard’s Healthcare, LLC is 100% owned by Debtor AmeriMark Direct LLC.
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