A request came to the Superintendency of Companies to comply with Law 1116 or the bankruptcy law in the country, coming from the textile giant Encajes SA Colombia, as published this Tuesday, March 19, by the Primera Página portal.
Indeed, in the SuperSociedades they confirmed that the document in which the company, which has been a supplier to famous brands such as Victoria’s Secret, Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Leonisa, To mention just a few, he claimed to be in difficulties, which is why he made the request that has already been admitted for business reorganization.
It implies that creditors are frozen immediately, so that the company can have room for maneuver to continue operating. Meanwhile, León Bibas, one of the company’s owners, had acquired an expensive apartment in an exclusive area of Miami.
The argument presented in the request submitted to the SuperSociedades, According to what was published by Primera Página and according to the application document presented in the SuperSociedades, by Encajes SA, the company “is imminently unable to pay, taking into account circumstances in the market that will seriously affect the normal fulfillment of obligations within the next 12 months.”
They thus support the request for protection under the Insolvency Law, in the decrease in demand for their products, around which, they indicated that as of September of last year, sales had fallen by more than half (56%). They also alleged a reduction in local sales and exports, taking into account that all the markets they reach remain with low demand.
Additionally, they maintain that they are hit by inflation, which, Despite having decreased since 11 months ago, “it remains high, which generates pressure on expenses and costs, since suppliers rely on increases in that indicator.”
Controversial purchase while the company was in crisis
Behind the company Encajes Colombia are the famous businessmen Bibas. The company was originally created by businessman Marco Bibas in 1978. Towards the 90s, his son León Bibas developed the line of elastic lace products and set out to consolidate Encajes as one of the largest suppliers of the product worldwide. .
Until 2021, business records showed that it was the main exporter of lace in Colombia, a supplier of inputs for the manufacture of underwear.. Although 95% of its production has occurred in the country, it has also managed alliances with factories in China. In fact, in the Certificate of Registration of a Foreign Company Branch that they presented to the SuperSociedades, they reported on a Public Deed of the foundation of the company Encajes SA, domiciled in the British Virgin Islands and of the resolution that agreed to the establishment in Colombia of a branch.
By 2021, after having been hit by the pandemic, they said they sold in more than 40 countries and represented 65 percent of Colombia’s total lace exports, with offices in New York, Miami, Hong Kong and China.
Furthermore, as recorded by The Real Deal In 2020, now cited by Primera Página, businessmen would have bought a luxurious condominium at the Turnberry Ocean Club, by Jeffrey Soffer, creator of projects that are famous because they are built like real cities, exclusively for billionaires.
There, León and Andrea Bibas (León has been executive director of Encajes) paid 5.5 million dollarsaccording to the publication (The Real Deal), for an apartment in Sunny Isles Beach Florida.
Therefore, it is now surprising that the company has filed for corporate insolvency law, despite being owners of that luxurious condominium.
More arguments to benefit from the bankruptcy law
Another variable that they put on the table, to make the request to be covered by the bankruptcy law in Colombia It is that of interest rates, which cause “a financial expense with an increase of at least 54%,” they argued.
Inclusive, They also used as an argument “the greater perception of the risk of recession”, which would have led to a cut in inventories.“with consequences on the sale.”
But they also highlight the fact that in Colombia there is great expectation for the reforms being processed by the government. in Congress and put special focus on labor, which they perceive as a tool that will increase labor costs and reduce the possibilities of “adjusting payrolls to production levels,” says the SuperSociedades document.
