Going out of business and being liquidated doesn't mean what it once did.
It seems that if a brand has any sort of name recognition that somebody will buy the brand and bring it back to life. In many cases, that leads to zombie brands that leach off the popularity of the original company.
Sharper Image, for example, saw all of its hip, fun-to-visit stores shutdown but the name was revived for a series of lower-end games, gadgets, and office novelties that leveraged the name recognition of the once-popular brand.
Related: Historic beverage brand files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
Many companies seem like Michael Myers or any other horror movie villain who won't stay dead. Toys R Us, for example, has gone through multiple iterations since it declared bankruptcy and was liquidated.
The brand name still exists and it lives on in various places including the toy section at Macy's. It's not in any way the same experience fans of the old brand remember, but it's a more meaningful name than an unbranded Macy's toy section.
Bed Bath & Beyond had barely closed when its intellectual property was purchased by the former Overstock.com. That company immediately purchased the Bed Bath & Beyond name and took it on, even though it was not planning to revive the former chain's retail presence.
It has since backtracked a little, brought back the Overstock website, and shortened its name to Beyond. Now, it plans to also revive another brand — a digital pioneer that was once a billion-dollar company.
Image source: TheStreet
Big clothing brand coming back
Zulily, a once high-flying online clothing retailer mostly aimed at moms and children, never actually declared bankruptcy. The company laid off most of its staff, shut down various distribution facilities, and then entered an agreement to liquidate without court involvement.
"Douglas Wilson Companies announced that, on December 22, 2023, Zulily and its parent company entered into an Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors (ABC) and transferred all its assets to a third-party fiduciary, or “Assignee,” who will liquidate these assets and conduct an orderly wind-down of the business," the company said online.
It was a decision that angered many of the company's customers because they were essentially sent to the back of the line when it came to paid-for orders that were not shipped.
Shipped orders will be delivered as planned. Some customers, however, are out of luck.
"As a result of this announcement, Zulily is legally unable to issue any refunds to its customers at this time and parties are required to file a proof of claim for outstanding amounts owed," according to the Douglas Wilson Companies FAQ.
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Zulily making a comeback under Beyond
Beyond, which has seen its own operating losses grow from $4 million to $47 million versus the year-ago quarter, purchased the Zulily name and plans to bring it back soon.
"We completed the architecture and POV on Zulily, and signed, over 100 legacy vendors with another 100 suppliers in the onboarding pipeline. And the site is now in the internal testing phase. We are targeting to launch Zulily on September 10. This effort has been led by a combination of our own and existing staff as well as an unbelievable team of added key legacy Zulily leaders," Beyond (BYON) Executive Chairman Marcus Lemonis shared during his company's second-quarter earnings call.
More bankruptcy:
- Tinker Toy, Tonka toymaker files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Another coffee and cafe company files Chapter 11 bankruptcy
- Distressed home improvement retailer plans Chapter 11 bankruptcy
CEO David Nielsen shared the plan for the Zulily relaunch during the call.
"And lastly, Zulily. We hired a team of experienced merchants who were with legacy Zulily, know the Zulily customers, and have established working relationships with important brand partners and their efforts are bearing fruit as we've made great progress on onboarding key legacy vendors, while also adding some new vendors to the mix," he said. "In addition to offering exciting flash cells, we'll also be offering an evergreen assortment of must-have basics on site, which will require a member login and be additive to the P&L."
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