Whitehall Jewelers [Chicago, IL]

Jewelry Advisors Group was contacted by the “unsecured creditors committee” to bid on liquidating the assets of Whitehall Jewelers, which was forced into bankruptcy. Whitehall was at one time ranked as one of the top three jewelry store chains in the country. Silverman teamed up with other non-jewelry liquidators that specialize in large chain liquidations and was chosen to liquidate the entire chain of 375 stores. An analysis of the situation revealed that Whitehall had a large percent of its inventory on consignment, and the creditors wanted the goods returned prior to the start of the planned “going out of business” sale. With its strong jewelry ties, Silverman was able to secure an additional $120 million in additional goods to supplement the Whitehall inventory. The company then took action by placing approximately 100 supervisors in the chain’s locations to oversee the liquidation, put systems in place to ensure the accurate reporting of the additional inventory, and devised a detailed marketing plan to maximize recovery during the sales event. The result generated approximately $250 million in sales, while the additional inventory generated over $35 million in additional cash for the creditors. All sales objectives were met and/or exceeded, and the unsecured creditors, who were severely hurt by the bankruptcy filing, generated substantial profits with the sale of the additional inventory.