Astor and Black Bankrupt

[Sean McKee]

Astor and Black had filed bankruptcy.

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/08/30/astor-black-shuts-down-declares.html

 

[VinnyMac]

Astor and Black had filed bankruptcy.

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/08/30/astor-black-shuts-down-declares.html

LOL!

 

[comrade]

Astor & Black’s five largest creditors are:
Colorado Department of Revenue, $136,552
Louisiana Department of Revenue, $118,442
North Carolina Department of Revenue, $68,409
BMW Bank of North America, $67,000
Missouri Department of Revenue, $42,824

All creditors are unsecured except BMW Bank.

Looks like someone will be getting a new ride.

 

[CousinDonuts]

How long ago did Schottenstein sell?

 

[Sean McKee]

It's been a couple years. He still had a seat on the board I understand.

 

[MisterFu]

Astor and Black had filed bankruptcy.

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/news/2013/08/30/astor-black-shuts-down-declares.html

I had never even heard of these guys until this thread. Was there stuff any good? Seriously pretentious logo.

 

[CousinDonuts]

http://www.styleforum.net/t/40508/a-visit-to-astor-black/

 

[MisterFu]

http://www.styleforum.net/t/40508/a-visit-to-astor-black/

Interesting. Based on all the info and pics from OTCTailor, towards the end, it looks like they were making a pretty decent product after they had been taken over by professional management. Also appears that in the early days they were a pretty sketchy and poorly managed operation that survived on rapid sales growth and slick sales presentation. With slick marketing and a good pitch, rapid revenue growth would have made them an easy sell to the less sophisticated private equity operations out there, of which there are many. Once the PE guys put in some professional management, the mess of quality and customer sat. issues became apparent and I guess the margins collapsed as they attempted to improve the product and customer sat.

 

[jrd617]

The Astor and Black thread gets good around post 14.

http://www.styleforum.net/t/40508/a-visit-to-astor-black/0_50#post_1715469

The rep releases the customer's name (since redacted) and order after he criticizes the company.

As another poster mentions in the thread, it was only a matter of time

 

[MisterFu]

The Astor and Black thread gets good around post 14.

http://www.styleforum.net/t/40508/a-visit-to-astor-black/0_50#post_1715469

The rep releases the customer's name (since redacted) and order after he criticizes the company.

As another poster mentions in the thread, it was only a matter of time

At the core was a business model that was fundamentally unsustainable as described (though not as initially operated by the founder). Put simply, once the new management tried to actually deliver on the promise of a high-quality product and actual MTM-level customer service, the margins evaporated and the business proved unsustainable.

I gotta say though, the whole outing of the dissatisfied customer was truly an outstanding moment (my jaw hit the floor when I read that part of the thread).