I am usually not one to vent online, but lately I have been dealing with such bureaucracy that it makes me sad for its victims, and makes me hate some aspects of my job. The following is a latest occurrence. I tried to be as detailed as possible, yet concise at the same time in order to eliminate possibilities of incorrect assumption…

As general background, my profession deals with helping companies restructure/turn-around their operations (in hopes of becoming profitable again) or close them down if all else fails (something well deserved and sometimes not). Unfortunately, due to the latest economic downturns I have been primarily working on the latter option. However, just like the phoenix rising from the ashes, there are some potential positive things to be gained out of business closures (details are coming up).

My latest case involves overseeing a simple non-bankruptcy closing down of a company (Assignment for Benefit of Creditor http://www.answers.com/topic/assignm...-of-creditors). The company was not over-leveraged and was well managed, but since its business was in designing fixtures and furnishings for various designer brands, it found itself seriously hurting due to vanishing consumer spending and could not obtain funding to continue operation. To add insult to injury, the funds it needed to stay afloat were not even that much, and probably equal less than the bonuses some Wall Street analysts will get courtesy of the financial services sector bail-out.

The wind down was quick and straight forward with guaranteed assets/inventory returned to appropriate leasors, licensors and secured creditors, and remaining valuable assets to be sold off by a liquidating appraiser/broker to settle remaining claims. As in most such cases, there was a plethora of items left over that have no value to the above mentioned parties (i.e. office/kitchen/maintenance supplies and fixture, old inventory, showroom pieces, etc) that can still be of great service if donated to various institutions in need (schools, community centers, homeless shelters, Salvation Army etc).

Obviously, I wanted to donate anything and everything left over, but ultimately was not allowed to proceed beyond my good intent. Since the company doors had to be totally closed by the end of the month, it meant that institutions would need to come in over the holiday period to claim these items (not an impossible task). However, there were also conditions given (beyond my control) that representatives from my company, the liquidating broker, and/or the closing company would need to be present in order to supervise the process and make sure no “improper/proprietary/sensitive” items are taken…even though everything of value and importance has already been sent out or locked up. It was also pretty much decided that our potential combined billing hours were not worth these efforts, and throwing the stuff away or leaving it for landlord to deal with would be more efficient.

I do not know the value of the abandoned inventory; but considering that every thing from fully stocked stationary closets to out of license and/or season products (i.e. bed sets, quilts, comforters, fabrics, etc.) are being left behind, it pains me to think about potential benefactors of these useful items. Educational and non-profit organizations are hurting from budget reduction, lack of private/business funding/donations, and other cost cutting measures, while I am being forced to such actions…I really hope that the landlord acts in better faith than the party involved up to this point.

Everyone is welcome to discuss

 

failthread

 

Aww, for some reason I thought you were banned? Perhaps that was just wishful thinking on my part Anyways, keep posting these very insightful contributions of yours, we all get so much out of them...

In terms of the OP, having grown up with a father in the same industry, I too have seen some of the waste that can occur firsthand when a company is disbanding. I can remember one instance in particular where I was told a company (who shall remain nameless) was literally throwing out 1-2 year old computers. In the meantime, my grandmother runs a non-profit which gathers donations/supplies for a school in Rogers Park (Chicago); passing these computers on to she and her students would have been so easy, yet red tape effectively caused these items to be 'untouchable', if you will
Lets just hope in this particular situation as you mentioned, the landlord realized the usefulness of the remaining items, and took the time to pass them on to the appropriate parties.