Samuels Jewelers, a 112-store retailer with roots that date back more than a century, told employees on Feb. 14 that it will shut all of its stores by Feb. 25, JCKOnline.com reported. The Austin, Texas–based retail chain, which does business under the Samuels Diamonds, Rogers, Andrews, and Schubach nameplates, had filed for chapter 11 on Aug. 7. In October, it launched store-closing sales, but still hoped that a suitor would purchase its profitable stores. According to an email sent to employees and obtained by JCK, that is no longer feasible. “Until Feb. 12, we, the current management of Samuels, were very hopeful and confident that a transaction we had located would allow 60 to 64 go-forward stores and the continuation of the business under new ownership,” it said. “However, our secured lender Wells Fargo has chosen to exercise their ability to obtain, among other things, the intellectual property rights for all the consumer-facing business names…as well as the web addresses for all the brands and the unsold inventory. This effectively ensured that the transaction we were diligently pursuing…will not be possible now or in the foreseeable future.” In a Feb. 14 court filing, the company canceled a scheduled auction of its assets, saying it would go with Wells Fargo’s credit bid.
