The Bon-Ton Stores Inc., the bankrupt retailer that closed its doors last month after 100 years, re-emerged Friday with a new owner and an e-commerce-only platform, at least for now.
Merrillville, Indiana-based CSC Generation Holdings Inc. relaunched the websites for Bon-Ton’s store brands, including Boston Store and Younker’s.
“We’re back & we’re here to stay!” the banner image on the Bon-Ton websites says. The websites also invite visitors to “start shopping,” with an inventory of items available to purchase.
The re-launch of the former Bon-Ton brand websites follows the approval on Monday, Sept. 10 by a bankruptcy court judge of the sale of Bon-Ton’s intellectual property assets to CSC for $900,000.
Those assets include all registered trademarks, all domain names and domain name registrations, all customer data and databases (includes 24.5 million unique customer records, the StyleRewards and LoveStyleRewards programs, material operations and management analysis reports, private label brands IP, Google Analytics account, product catalog, social media accounts, and gift card and merchandise card data.
In a message to online shoppers, Jordan Voloshin, the new president of Bon-Ton, said CSC Generation acquired Bon-Ton for three reasons: the love of customers, a competent and loyal workforce and the opportunity to rebuild an American icon.
“With a renewed focus on the customer, we hope to re-earn our spot in the community for the next century,” Voloshin said in his statement.
The former Bon-Ton websites now sell hundreds of brands for women, men, children. There are also home goods, jewelry and handbags and shoes.
On July 31, the court and IP disposition firm Hilco Streambank held an auction for the intellectual property assets of Milwaukee- and York, Pennsylvania-based Bon-Ton. CSC Generation Holdings won the bidding, with L’Oreal USA Inc. being awarded just the data for beauty, cosmetics, skin care, hair care and fragrance customers.
CSC is a technology company that owns e-commerce sites DirectBuy, Killion, leaseco and DirectBuy Leasing. It describes itself as “a decentralized, multi-brand technology platform that is saving companies from Amazon.”
“I spent many days at various (Bon-Ton) stores talking to customers who were truly saddened by the thought of losing their beloved brand,” Voloshin wrote on the former Bon-Ton brands websites. “Few companies are lucky to have customers who are this invested in its success.”
CSC has indicated in court filings that it will primarily operate the Bon-Ton brands as e-commerce retailers, but will reopen some brick-and-mortar stores. However, the locations and number of stores to be reopened has not yet been released.
By Aug. 31, all of the Bon-Ton stores had been shuttered at the completion of the company’s liquidation.
A joint venture among Los Angeles-based Great American Group, New York-based Tiger Capital Group and a group of Bon-Ton debtholders bought The Bon-Ton Stores out of bankruptcy in April, and then began to liquidate the company. Bon-Ton filed for bankruptcy in February.
