Two Irvington companies that sell Geox Italian shoes have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.
S&A Retail Inc. and S&A Distribution Inc. saw sales drop precipitously last year, but management believes the brand can survive by getting out of brick-and-mortar retail.
The “core business model is sound,” Bridgette Nally, a corporate officer states in a March 26 affidavit, “and sales are expected to increase as Covid-19 recedes.”
The companies have about $7.7 million in assets and $4.2 million in liabilities.
They are controlled by Geox Holland B.V., a Dutch subsidiary of Geox S.p.A., Montebulluna, Italy.
Goods are manufactured primarily in the Far East, according to Nally, shipped to a Canadian subsidiary and then shipped to S&A Distribution.
S&A Retail sales fell by 55% last year.
It was selling shoes at 14 U.S. stores in 2014, but by early 2020 it was down to two, Aventura Mall near Miami and 34th Street in Manhattan. Both closed because of the pandemic, though the Aventura Mall location reopened.
S&A Retail also sells products through the company”™s website.
Sales for S&A Distribution, the wholesale side of the business, fell by 40% last year, according to Nally.
Department stores and smaller outlets that carry the brand were closed because of the pandemic. Prestigious outlets, such as Neiman Marcus and Lord & Taylor, declared bankruptcy, leaving S&A Distribution with uncollectible payments.
Nally said the plan is to shed store leases, restructure debt, “quickly emerge from Chapter 11 as stronger and well-positioned companies,” and focus on e-commerce and wholesale.
Manhattan bankruptcy attorney Joseph T. Moldovan represents the S&A companies.
