nexcen

Hmmmm! In an earlier post we had mentioned that NexCen had sold Bill Blass to Peacock International Holdings and that the new owners were evaluating how best they could revive the ailing company. Now it seems that Bill Blass Couture wasn't included in the acquisition, and since then Bill Blass Ltd. has filed for bankruptcy liquidation since Dec. 31st. Was Peacock handed the short end of the cock?(i couldn't resist)

NexCen wanted $25 million for the designer business Bill Blass, but in the end they had to settle for $10 million from buyer and new owner Peacock International Holdings LLC. Hey! Look on the bright side, at least they got it sold and got some of their money back. I can't say the same for the 60 employees they layed off from Bill Blass just before Christmas with out severance though, but i guess that's how the rotten cookie crumbles sometimes.

Talk about the Holiday Blues! Nexcen who bought Bill Blass Couture gave the entire staff the snow covered boot just before the holidays with severance not included(ouch!). The 60+ strong workforce were given their papers, but unfortunately they weren't the type of paper that they would of liked, and some workers who worked at the company for over 20 years were not spared the no severance axe. Sounds like a reason to protest to me!

It's official, Peter Som has left Bill Blass. Peter expressed to WWD that it was an "extremely difficult decision" and he plans to focus on growing his own label. Peter's frustration about NexCen, which owns Bill Blass, could not support the Blass line financially the way he envisioned. It couldn't be easy when NexCen hadn't paid fabric vendors and embroiderers. Though unfortunate, all i can say is best of luck to ya Pete, maybe you'll find another company who can back you 100%. Maybe then your ideas can truly be expressed.