Tag: bankruptcy

In past articles, we typically have studied companies with a more significant tenure and with a well-established footprint. However, there are some produce companies that don’t make it past their first year—as previously mentioned, approximately 20 percent of them.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly one in five U.S. businesses fail within the first year.

Montreal-based importer-receiver, Fruits Et Legumes Royal, filed an Intention to Make a Proposal under the Bankruptcy & Insolvency Act last week in the Superior Court of Quebec under court number 500-11-061949-232.

Leamington, ON-based greenhouse grower Lakeside Produce Inc. filed for bankruptcy last week, owing $188 million (Canadian) to creditors.

A federal appeals court ruling this summer that allowed a bankrupt Florida grocery store owner to discharge debts owed to a produce supplier has raised questions about the PACA Trust.

So what really happened here? Why did this century-old company close its doors?

In the summer of 2019, H. Brooks and Company, LLC, New Brighton, MN, had entered into a definitive agreement to sell its stock and become a wholly owned subsidiary of New Harvest Foods, Inc.

Data, scores, and A/R provided sufficient warning and reason for vendors to monitor transactions and outstanding balances with H. Brooks and Company, LLC, New Brighton, MN more closely.

Every year, this Blueprints department discusses a company that closed its doors during the prior year. Our objective is to see if we, as credit extenders, can learn from the company’s decline or help reinforce processes to minimize the impact. For those who were on the short end, this case study will perhaps provide hindsight and lead to more proactive steps when the next customer begins to fail, because it will happen.

Two years after a private equity firm acquired two iconic Twin Cities’ fresh produce operations, bankruptcy appears imminent as the bills go unpaid and lawsuits accumulate.