Tok&Stok closes 17 stores and renegotiates millionaire debt – 06/26/2023 – Market

This Monday (26), the chain of furniture and decoration items stores Tok&Stok closed the restructuring of its bank debt, which totals around R$ 350 million, and announced the receipt of R$ 100 million from the Carlyle fund, its controlling shareholder.

In a statement released late this Monday afternoon, the company says it already has positive cash generation, after a reorganization that included the closure of 17 unprofitable stores.

According to the company, the debt restructuring will allow the release of payments to banks for the next two years, “allowing the operation to become a priority again.”

Tok&Stok says that its recovery strategy foresees a “back to basics” (back to basics), which includes the simplification of the company’s organizational chart, the management of processes in stores and the operation of the distribution center. A “profitable digital transformation” is also planned, says the company.

The warnings about the economic situation of the retail chain were given after Vinci Logística Fundo Imobiliário went to court to evict the Tok&Stok distribution center, in Extrema (MG), due to late payment of rent. The action was closed after the network settled the debt.

In early June, Iguatemi in Ribeirão Preto (inland São Paulo) obtained an injunction to force the retailer to vacate the store it rents. The network would be in default with the payment of the lease since February and already owes R$ 212.7 thousand, according to the decision.

In the statement released this Monday, Tok&Stok does not detail whether the debt renegotiation also includes eviction actions –the Iguatemi chain has at least two other eviction processes– or a bankruptcy filing filed by a service provider.

“In the face of a challenging moment in the market, the company focuses on cash management and operational improvement”, said the network, in a note. Tok&Stok now has 51 stores which, according to the company, operate in the positive.

“The completion of this financial restructuring represents a sign of confidence from both financial creditors and the shareholders themselves, who remain optimistic about the brand’s operational resumption”, said the company.

Tok&Stok was founded in 1978 by the French couple Régis and Ghislaine Dubrule, with an eye on the A and B class consumer.

Its stores are known for their decorated environments and for their partnerships with national designers. Last year, he became involved in controversy when he put up for sale the original chairs in the orange stands at the Pacaembu stadium, for prices ranging from R$1,499 to R$1,799.

In 2020, Estok, the business name of Tok&Stok, even prepared to be listed on the Stock Exchange and even requested registration for an initial stock offering (IPO, in its acronym in English), but the plan did not advance.