Instant Brands, maker of Instant Pot, Corelle, Pyrex, Snapware and CorningWare, has initiated a voluntary court-supervised Chapter 11 bankruptcy process with the view to finding a path forward.
Chapter 11 is a legal tool in the US that enables companies to continue operating as they strengthen their financial position in an efficient and orderly manner.
The Court has since authorised the company to access and use financing from its existing lenders on an interim basis with up to $100 million immediately funded to pay employee wages and benefits, pay vendors, suppliers and distributors in full under normal terms, and provide housewares and appliance products.
The company’s entities located outside the US and Canada are not included in the Chapter 11 filings. Instant Brands continues to operate as usual in Australia, New Zealand, Asia, the UK, Europe and Middle East regions.
An Instant Brands Australia Pty Ltd spokesperson provided the following statement to Appliance Retailer, “Our US business, Instant Brands Inc, has initiated a voluntary court-supervised Chapter 11 process… It is different from restructuring or administration processes in other countries and does not mean they are going out of business.
“Instant Brands Australia Pty Ltd is a wholly owned subsidiary of Instant Brands Holding Inc but operations and cashflows are managed by the local ANZ team. We are continuing to serve our retail and distribution partners and our community of users without interruption, and they remain our top priority.
“Production has not paused, either in the US nor in our other manufacturing hubs, with product continuing to be made based on forecasted customer demand. As such, it is our expectation that the local Australian business will move forward without interruption.”
According to Instant Brands president and CEO, Ben Gadbois, after successfully navigating Covid and global supply chain crisis, the business continues to face additional global macroeconomic and geopolitical challenges.
“In particular, tighter credit terms and higher interest rates have impacted our liquidity levels and made our capital structure unsustainable. In recent months, we have been working closely with our financial stakeholders to position the company for its next phase of success,” he said.
“Over the past three years, Instant Brands executed across five key strategies to build a profitable business. We brought innovation to our core business across all brands, entered several new product categories, expanded our global footprint, progressively improved how we leverage our global infrastructure and we have created best-in-class global consumer engagement through our digital ecosystem.
“As we move through this process, we remain focused on serving and connecting with our consumers around the world, and we are grateful for their trust in us and our products. We are committed to finding a positive outcome. We thank our Instant Brands employees in factories, distribution centers and offices all over the world for their ongoing hard work and excellence, and we also extend our gratitude to our retail partners, suppliers and vendors for their continued support.”