West Marine Inc. and seven affiliated debtors filed for Chapter 11 protection last week in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The company has approximately $549 million in secured and unsecured obligations, according to documents filed in court. The bankruptcy plan calls for either restructuring its debt to emerge as a recapitalized going concern, or selling substantially all of its assets to a third-party bidder, depending on which will deliver more value to current owners. The plan calls for the decision to be made within 95 days from the date of the May 17 filing.
The company said in its disclosure statement that extreme weather during peak boating season in the past two years negatively impacted sales. The marine and outdoor recreation sector faces elevated diesel prices, inflation, supply chain disruption, and a volatile tariff environment, the disclosure said. In addition, the company said it was carrying excess inventory due to over-buying in the pandemic-era. It also said its retail store footprint is too large and many locations are locked into leases that limit early termination.
As of the petition filing, West Marine operated approximately 200 retail stores across more than 34 states and Puerto Rico, according to the disclosure statement, and had two distribution centers in California and South Carolina. It employed about 2,600, the disclosure said.
West Marine has had a retail location at 1089 Old Country Road in Riverhead since 2011. Prior to that, West Marine was located at 103 E. Main Street in Riverhead.
West Marine was founded in 1968 in California as West Coast Ropes, according to Wikipedia. It acquired West Products in 1977 and changed its name to West Marine Products. It opened its first stores on the East Coast in 1991. It went public in 1993 and traded on the NASDAQ exchange for 24 years until it was taken private again in 2017 when it was acquired by a private equity firm. It remains in private ownership.
According to the disclosure statement filed in bankruptcy court, West Marine is a leading provider of aftermarket products to the boating, fishing, sailing, and watersports markets.
The survival of local journalism depends on your support.
We are a small family-owned operation. You rely on us to stay informed, and we depend on you to make our work possible. Just a few dollars can help us continue to bring this important service to our community.
Support RiverheadLOCAL today.
