Some operators wonât even say the word âbankruptcy.â Take Adam Zeitsiff, CEO of Goldâs Gym when it filed for Chapter 11 in May 2020. "I donât use the B-word," he said at the time. His public relations firm preferred "restructuring through the court process.â
But can bankruptcy be a good thing? These five operators used the process to their advantage.
1. Diamonds in the rough. Chris Rowland, CEO of Pet Supplies Plus, moved quickly when news broke last November that Pet Valu was closing its 358 U.S. stores. âWe heard the announcement of them liquidating, so we reached out to their real estate department and had a conversation, and they were accommodating in terms of giving us information on stores we were specifically interested in.â