Bugle Boy in bankruptcy, closes one of two Las Vegas stores

Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2001 | 11:08 a.m.

SUN STAFF AND WIRE REPORTS

Clothing maker Bugle Boy of Simi Valley, Calif., a fashion powerhouse in the 1980s, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week and has closed one of its two Las Vegas stores.

And the surviving Las Vegas Bugle Boy outlet at Belz Factory Outlet World at 7400 South Las Vegas Blvd is being sued by the mall's Memphis, Tenn.-based owner over unpaid rent.

The privately held company, which made a name for itself 20 years ago through its balloon-like parachute pants, will likely be broken up and sold, said Bugle Boy bankruptcy attorney Paul Aronzon.

Aronzon said the company's largest creditors, a syndicate held by Foothill Capital Corp. and General Electric Credit, are owed roughly $75 million. About $30 million is owed to additional lenders, he said.

Bugle Boy founder William Mow left the company last week and has been replaced by an interim chief executive. The company has abandoned its Simi Valley headquarters' building, laid off some workers and has begun closing many of its 150 retail locations.

David Apodaca, a Bugle Boy manager in Las Vegas, said there were a total of 30-40 workers in the two retail stores in Las Vegas and about 10 workers at one other store in Laughlin.

He said the store at 3031 North Rainbow Blvd, which had about 10 workers, was closed last week. The Belz store and the Laughlin store remain open.

"Our Las Vegas store at Belz Factory outlet is the No. 1 store for sales per square foot out of 200 plus stores nationwide, and also the No. 3 store in terms of overall volume," Apodaca said.

"We've had customers calling us over the weekend to find out what happened to Bugle Boy at North Rainbow, and many of them were disappointed because they did a lot of shopping there and liked the quality and prices of the clothing," Apodaca said.

Bugle Boy plans an immediate selloff of inventory and equipment, Aronzon said, with retail stores holding major sales before shutting down. Company trademarks hold the greatest value, he said, and the liquidation team is already fielding offers for the sportswear brand. Apodaca said he hasn't heard if the remaining Southern Nevada stores will be closed.

Meanwhile, Belz sued Bugle Boy after it allegedly failed to pay $41,231 in rents.

Thomas Fell, Belz Enterprises' attorney, said: "The bankruptcy filing stays our eviction proceedings against Bugle Boy. But we may retain counsel in California to allow us to continue eviction proceedings against the company here. But that's subject to bankruptcy court approval."

The suit, which said Bugle Boy began leasing space at the Belz mall starting Oct. 1, 1992, said the retailer remained on the premises after allegedly defaulting on rents since Dec. 1.