CREDITORS’ RIGHTS A SHIPMAN & GOODWIN® ALERT February 8, 2018 Supplier Strategies for the Financially Distressed Buyer While the stock market continually reached new highs last year, the pace of retail bankruptcies did not abate. In just the last year, Toys R Us, Gymboree, Radioshack, Authors: Payless ShoeSource, BCBG Max Azria, Eastern Outfitters, and The Limited all filed for bankruptcy. This trend has continued in 2018, with the recent bankruptcy filing of The Bon-Ton Stores, and market watchers expect continued weakness in traditional retail.1 Given this uncertainty, it is a good time to review strategies for dealing with a financially distressed buyer. Set forth below are a variety of options to limit the seller’s risk followed by a brief discussion on how those strategies may impact the seller’s preference liability Eric S. Goldstein (860) 251-5059 in a subsequent bankruptcy filing.
[email protected] Shorten Credit Terms One of the first steps that a seller may consider is shortening credit terms. Cash in advance (“CIA”) or cash on delivery (“COD”) is the safest option for the seller both for credit risk and preference risk (discussed below). However, many struggling customers Latonia C. Williams will not be able to pay on such terms. In that case, the seller can continue to extend (860) 251-5037 credit, but shorten the period for payment and amount of credit. The process to put in
[email protected] place tightened credit terms will depend on whether the supplier and customer have a contract and the terms of such contract. If the parties’ contract governs credit terms for accepted orders, the seller should explore the ability to reject new orders until credit terms are renegotiated.