Bad Boy Furniture receives court approval in Ontario to begin liquidation sales

Bad Boy Furniture Warehouse Ltd., a Pickering, Ontario-based furniture company, has been granted permission to begin liquidating its stores as it works to restructure the business. A court order by Judge Herman Wilton-Siegel on November 17 allowed the company to start selling off its merchandise immediately. Sales will occur at the brand's 12 stores in southern Ontario for the first 30 days of its liquidation period. After that period, some stores will close and consolidate while others will remain open. Under the court order, the liquidation sales must end across the company's entire network by Feb. 15.

The company admits to operating in a "challenging" economic environment due to high interest rates, declining housing sector sales, and a tight retail climate. It is aiming to restructure through a notice of intention filing made under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act on Nov. 10. The court granted Bad Boy an extension to make a proposal until Jan. 23. KSV Restructuring Inc., a company hired to help with the reorganization, has warned Bad Boy that it will likely file for further extensions because its liquidation sales could wrap after the proposal is due.

Documents granting the extension show that since Bad Boy's original filings were made, 20 of its 275 employees have lost their jobs, mostly employed at the company's head office and warehouse. There will be substantial further employee terminations in connection with the closure of stores, including terminations during and following the 30-day initial sale period. Bad Boy's debts owed to unsecured creditors total $13.7 million, including $2.3 million to Whirlpool Canada LP, $840,924 to Samsung Appliances, $404,410 to LG Electronics Canada Inc., and $317,382 to RioCan Real Estate Investment Trust.