Headlines

California Jewelry Maker Vivi – Formerly Known as Cookie Lee – Files for Bankruptcy

Company listed liabilities of $1 million to $10 million in Chapter 7 filing.

Published

7 years ago

July 18, 2016

INSTORE Staff

Vivi, a California direct-sales jewelry company formerly known as Cookie Lee, has filed for bankruptcy, The Orange County Register reports. The company listed assets of under $50,000 and liabilities of $1 million to $10 million in its Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing on July 8, the article says, noting that Chapter 7 usually indicates a company intends to liquidate instead of reorganize under Chapter 11.

The article explains that Cookie Lee was founded in 1992 and then sold in 2014 to Debbie Millar, who renamed the company to Vivi. On the day the company closed, Sue Neff, a Vivi sales consultant, wrote on the company’s Facebook page: “Debbie has worked very hard over the past two years to rebuild a company that had been declining for years. Unfortunately, rebuilding sometimes just doesn’t work out.”

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”