‘Dochki-sinochki’ group of companies declared bankruptcy of its own five firms

‘Dochki-sinochki’ group of companies declared bankruptcy of its own five firms

‘Dochki-sinochki’ group of companies declared bankruptcy of its own five firms
A group of companies (GC), which owns 3%, of the market of goods for children, announced plans to drive five of its own companies to bankruptcy.  On January 12, the Fedresurs website published relevant information about the intentions of a group of companies. One of the candidates for bankruptcy, the Volga company, is listed on the chain’s official website as a managing company.

An analysis of judicial practice shows that the retail chain's debt to counterparties has already exceeded 100 million rubles.  This, in particular, is reported by the ‘Kommersant’ media outlet, referring to the information of the‘SPARK-Interfax’ Internet service.
Experts believe that the attempt to drive several companies to bankruptcy may take place due to the desire of the chain to get rid of the debts to suppliers.
On January 10, ‘Inventive Toys’ filed one of the largest financial claims against the ‘Dochki-Sinochki’.  Its amount is almost 60 million rubles.  The plaintiff represents the interests of Inventive Retail Group.  The holding acts as a distributor of the well-known brands (Lego, Mattel and others).

The experience of bankruptcy of their own enterprises is not something fundamentally new for the ‘Dochki-Sinochki’ group of Companies. In May 2020, the media spoke of the insolvency of a number of retailer structures.  In particular, Volga filed a complaint against Saturn.  The insolvency then affected the ‘Carnival’ company, the bankruptcy of which was taken up by the supplier represented by the ‘Fashion Style’ LLC.

The main beneficiary, Alexander Bondyashov, explained the relevant actions as an attempt to optimize activities by driving to bankruptcy those firms that actually do not conduct economic activities or continue to generate losses.  We should recall that the case was connected with the amount of claims against the structures of the Civil Code for 200 million rubles.

Possible reasons that prompt the network to turn to bankruptcy instruments, according to experts, may be not only debts, coupled with the intransigence of creditors.
Experts note increased competition in the market, and a growing share of online trading.
The temporary closure of retail stalls during the pandemic could also undermine the position of companies in the market.

Currently, the Group of Companies includes about 190 outlets.  InfoLine specialists launch estimated their revenue for the first six months of 2021 at RUB 7.6 billion excluding VAT.  Lawyers suggest that the publication on Fedresurs could have been made in order to declare the good faith of the leadership of the group of companies.  This would allow top management to evade subsidiary liability in the near future, if the companies still fail to pay off their debts and launch bankruptcy proceedings.

17.01.2022