Closing down: hand the stock to one buyer instead of discounting it in your own market
Closing down is not an insolvency. You decide the order and the timing, and nobody has to approve it. That produces a choice an estate does not have: the stock can be sold off in your own market, with signs in the window and weeks at the till, or it can go to one buyer in a single transaction. This page describes the second route, its sequence, and the paperwork that comes before it.
- One transaction instead of weeks of clearance: one buyer, one contract, one payment
- A mutual NDA before the first stock list leaves the building
- The purchase contract forbids us to resell into your home market
- Payment in full before loading, a firm price within 48 hours, collection arranged by us
A clearance sale in your own market costs more than it brings in
The obvious route is to sell down on site. It feels free because it generates no invoice, and it is not.
It ties up staff in exactly the phase when you need them for winding down, it runs for weeks, and it still ends with a remainder. That remainder is precisely the hardest part of the stock to move, because the core sizes go first. Handing the stock over in one piece instead means selling the lot with its structure intact, and the structure is what carries it.
Why the sequence differs from an insolvency
In a realisation from an insolvency estate there is an administrator, an estate and approvals to obtain. In a closing-down sale you decide, and that mainly changes the timetable.
You can bring the paperwork forward, before it is even known that you are closing. That is the advantage rarely used in this situation: the mutual NDA and the resale clause first, then the stock list, then the number. Announce first and negotiate second, and you are negotiating with a market that already knows the answer.
- No administrator, no third-party approval, no obligation to run a tender
- The moment of announcement stays your decision
- The paperwork can be settled before anything is announced
- The process runs under NDA, even if no purchase follows in the end
What we take on, and what stays on the floor
We take new footwear and sports apparel from tier-1 brands, in original packaging, from 1,000 units. Display pieces, worn pairs, customer returns and shop fittings are not part of it.
That matters in a closing-down sale, because a retail floor typically holds both. We tell you on the first working day which part falls inside the filter, and we name no number for the rest rather than inventing one. What we decline in general, with a reason for each line, sits on its own page.
- Taken: new goods with labels and original packaging, from 1,000 units
- Not taken: display pieces, worn goods, customer returns, seconds
- Not taken: shop fittings, shelving, till systems, point-of-sale material
- Several sites can run as one transaction, and the list stays one list
Several sites, one transaction
If it is not one shop closing but a small chain, the stock sits spread out, and the temptation is to settle site by site. That creates several negotiations, several collections, and several opportunities for the matter to become known in the market.
We assess the consolidated stock as one lot and name a firm price for the whole. Collection is arranged by us and the windows are agreed with your sites. If a specific floor also has to be empty by a fixed date, the warehouse clearance page is the more precise starting point; the terms are the same.
What the next few days look like
An enquiry before the announcement
Category and brand segment, the approximate volume, and whether you want to talk about selling. A buyer replies within one working day. Sites and article numbers stay with you at this stage.
NDA and resale restriction
A mutual NDA, on your template if you prefer, together with the clause: the purchase contract forbids us to resell into your home market. Only then do we see the list.
Firm price
Within 48 hours of the complete stock list there is a firm price for the entire stock. One price for the whole, with no picking of individual articles or sizes.
Payment, then collection
The full purchase price arrives by bank transfer before loading, documented by invoice and delivery note. Collection from your sites is arranged by us.
Talk about the stock before the signs go up
For the first reply, category and brand segment, the approximate volume from 1,000 units and your willingness to talk about selling are enough. A buyer replies within one working day, and the NDA sits before the first stock list. We never ask what you want for the lot.
Three facts are enough: category and brand segment, approximate volume from 1,000 units, and whether you want to talk about selling.
Received. Your offer is being prepared.
A buyer comes back to you within one business day, with a firm offer within 48 hours. Everything is handled under NDA.
Common questions
We have already started the clearance sale. Is it too late?
No, but the arithmetic looks different. After some weeks of discounting, the core sizes and the wanted articles are gone, and what is left is the harder part of the stock. We still assess what is actually there, and the list should show the current state. Anyone who still has the choice is usually better off keeping the lot's structure intact.
Will our suppliers hear about it before we announce it ourselves?
Not from us. The stock is not listed, not advertised and not offered around a distribution list, and the mutual NDA sits before the first stock list. It binds both sides and continues to apply even if no purchase follows. When you announce the closure stays your decision, not a consequence of our assessment.
Will the goods turn up at a local competitor afterwards?
There is a clause in the purchase contract for that: reselling into your home market is contractually forbidden to us, and you read the wording before signature. In a closing-down sale that is the question that counts, because you are leaving the location while the brands and the colleagues there stay. A document is worth more here than an assurance on the phone.
Do you take the shop fittings as well?
No, neither shelving nor till systems nor point-of-sale material. That is a different trade with different buyers, and we could not name a number you could rely on. We assess new footwear and sports apparel from tier-1 brands from 1,000 units, and decline everything else on the first working day.
We are closing three stores on different dates. Can that run as one transaction?
Yes, and it is usually the quieter route. The consolidated stock is assessed as one lot, with one contract, one payment and one contact. Collection windows are agreed with the individual sites and do not have to fall on the same day. Loading follows payment in each case.