BOSTON HERALD

New Basement owner seen rebuilding chain
By DONNA GOODISON
The new owner of Filene's Basement was silent about its future yesterday, but retail observers say that the Buxbaum Group's CEO is known more as a turnaround expert than a liquidator.

A possible   scenario for the cash-poor, Burlington-based chain of25 stores is that Buxbaum will seek to  restructure the off price discounter, which could involve closing more stores or disposing of certain parts of the business to save the company.
Whether a restructuring would take place through a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing would depend on timing and liquidity, and whether creditors cooperate.

"My perspective is that the Buxbaum Group will try to find ways - whether through a formal restructuring or not – to help a company with a historic past of 100 years survive," said Andy Moser of Westwood's Kairos Capital Partners, which has collaborated with Buxbaum but isn't involved in the Basement deal. "Like any company that has troubles, there are often pieces that have to go away ... so it certainly would not be uncommon to see that happen here."

The Agoura Hills, Calif.-based Buxbaum Group declined comment, but a spokeswoman for Filene's Basement said the company wasn't liquidating.

Late Tuesday, Retail Ventures said it disposed of its Basement subsidiary to a newly formed entity owned by Buxbaum. The Ohio company, which had owned the Basement since 2000, essentially handed over the keys to Buxbaum, acknowledging it won't receive any proceeds and still is on the hook for the Basement's debt.

Buxbaum Group CEO Paul Buxbaum, who was chairman of Ames Department Stores in the 1990s, has 30-plus years of clothing industry experience. His company stepped in when L.A. based Rampage faced Chapter 11 bankruptcy and after a two-year overhaul, the junior clothing brand was sold to Iconix Brand Group for $45.9 million in 2005.

Last month, Buxbaum was named CEO of Haggar Clothing Co.
- dgoodison@bostonherald.com