Looks like the restructuring is done, and the new entity is launching:
http://www.vinfolio.com/press-release-03-17-10-rstinc.jsp
I’ve been getting Vinfolio offer emails all along, has their operation been affected during the restructuring, other than the short period where there was an issue with checks?
Interesting passage:
In the coming days Vinfolio plans to announce the hiring of a new CEO who will head the day-to-day operations of the new organization. “Vinfolio will staff this position with an individual who combines extensive wine industry knowledge with a commitment to customer service and a proven track record of financial discipline,” stated Jon Moramarco.
“The financial troubles of Vinfolio, Inc. have created a most difficult situation for its employees, as well as certain customers and suppliers,” continued Moramarco. “We look forward to a return to Vinfolio’s mission in a stable and focused way. While the new company has not assumed, and is under no legal obligation to provide for, Vinfolio, Inc.'s historical liabilities, it is not our intention to profit from the misfortune of others. More specifically, VF Wine intends to operate the business prudently and is committed to attempting to resolve any legitimate claims of Vinfolio’s community of wine suppliers and customers before VF Wine’s investors take any profit distribution, fee, dividend or other return of capital on the investment we are making to rescue Vinfolio.”
From the FAQ attached to the press release:
I bought wine on pre-arrival from the predecessor company. How will the new Vinfolio handle my order?
Though not legally obligated to do so, new Vinfolio is committed to a fair and timely fulfillment of all pre-arrival orders made with the predecessor company. If for any reason we are unable to complete your order(s), we will provide you with an online Vinfolio wine store coupon for the same dollar amount. All customers with pre-arrivals will be receiving an email specifically addressing their order(s). We appreciate your continued patience as we work through this process.
Will wine suppliers to the predecessor company be paid? If so, how and when?While the new Vinfolio has not assumed and is not responsible for the liabilities of the predecessor company, the new Vinfolio has indicated its intent to resolve any legitimate claims of Vinfolio’s community of wine suppliers over time as prudent financial management and cash flow permits. More specifically, VF Wine’s investors have committed not to take any profit distribution, fee, dividend or other return of capital until wine suppliers’ legitimate claims are addressed. The timeframe for such resolutions cannot be determined but will likely extend through 2011 and 2012. The new Vinfolio will be contacting each supplier individually to explain next steps.
I never sold any wine through the Marketplace, but did have a few bottles on prearrival, so I will be waiting and watching with interest.
I am happy to see that the investor group here is trying their best to honor all customer and supplier claims. If you read the FAQ and the pieces that Rick quoted above, you can see that they seem rather committed to try and make this work.
It is my understanding that ALL Marketplace customers have already been made whole on all Marketplace transactions, modulo the fact that for recent transactions the payment schedule has been delayed due to needing to pass everything through the ABC. There are a small number of sellers who achieved volumes in 2009 that qualified them for a formerly advertised volume discount, and I am not yet aware if that will be honored. Certainly as we get closer to July if not honored then the process will be to file a proof of claim form. I have not heard of any CellarTracker users at this point who are out any $ other than a few with bounced check fees. It was my understanding that Vinfolio had already waived cancellation and shipping charges for those people who had accepted transactions and chose not to send in wine during the period of heightened uncertainty.
Looks like Stephen went the way of the buffalo…
Well since I got it in LinkedIn and email, figure it is OK to post here. Steve is clearly a visionary guy. Only he and his investors really know what happened.
This: Left Vinfolio CEO role and now seeking next challenge, most likely outside wine space.
And: High energy CEO seeking new career opportunity as a Consumer Internet or ecommerce company CEO or in the finance industry (technology/software related investing or M&A). Contact me directly for a full copy of my resume.
Oh and this from Twitter: http://twitter.com/sjbachmann" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
is CT gonna partner with marketplace again?
TBD. I am committed to talking to the new folks to see if we can do something. However there need to be significant customer protections in place. Frankly I was pretty shocked and disappointed with the whole meltdown in January. I am happiest at this point that my customers are whole, but whereas I thought was being very cautious before, well now I am beyond paranoid. I have been very impressed in my interactions with Jon Moramarco and Jean-Michel Vallette, but again, I am going to be very cautious going forward.
I am not one to burn down, but as a customer since last year, I have an outstanding and pending query with them. If it is resolved (was informed today this could take 2 months until they complete their inventory, and I hope everything is resolved), then all the better for everyone, and I will sing their praises.
However, if things do not go well, you will see me post more on this thread, in quite a different light.
It looks like it’s turned out about as well for the customers as was possible. It was fairly predictable that the CEO would be gone. FWIW, while he didn’t make Vinfolio profitable, he had an interesting vision and I respect him for the work he’s done over the past couple months wrapping this up in what must have been very personally challenging circumstances. Now let’s hope the new folks can make Vinfolio profitable, so the business will survive and so that they are able to cover the outstanding claims of customers.
-Al
Interesting from his twitter post that a deal to sell to a HK based company just fell thru last week. While they were probably pursuing multiple sales avenues, maybe the sale to Moramarco’s company was a fallback position. Personally, I would continue to be cautious. They still have many hurdles ahead, which include keeping their existing employees, breaking even, etc. Still seem to have too many chiefs and not enough indians to keep the day to day operations running smoothly, as evidenced by that (apparently) the person who checks in new Marketplace sales can’t keep up with it, due to spending half of their time helping to pull wines from storage for clients still removing their wine. Frankly, the storage business should be a positive cash flow contributor, but they appear to have lost quite a bit of that. That isn’t a positive development, as it impacts immediate cash flow and future cash flow (storage is a renewal driven business).
Chuck Miller
(ITB)
I don’t know what to make of Bachmann’s twitter post about the HK deal that fell through. But note that it was the assignee, not the original Vinfolio or Bachmann, who vetted the various options and decided how to best dispose of the remaining Vinfolio assets. The Moramarco group had acquired the secured debt of Vinfolio, so that may have given them some leverage. I agree 100% with you that they have many hurdles ahead and that losing a lot of storage business removes recurring revenue. I’m not sure how many chiefs or indians they have left, at this point. But I’m hoping the remaining employees and the new management group manage to turn things around.
-Al
I don’t know how many employees they still have (I think they had 60-70 late last year, but that obviously no longer applies) and when I say too many chiefs, maybe it’s just that they are enamored with fancy titles, the way banks have hundreds of ‘Vice Presidents’.
But here’s a quick list of people that are apparently there as of today:
San Francisco:
CEO – to be announced shortly
Director of Customer Service – Beth Thomas-Kim
VP, Wine Sourcing & Sales – Ann Feely
VP Operations – Mike Murphy
Director of Marketing – David Ruvalcaba
Director of Wine Sourcing – Tommy Svendberg
Senior Executive Wine Specialist - Christine Cristobal
Wine Specialist – Amy Cameron
Online Content Editor – Levi Hensel
Cellar Acquisition Coordinator – Christina Pate
Hong Kong
Managing Director – Anthony Mak
Executive Wine Specialist – Mabel Ho
Seems like a lot of managers to me.
Chuck Miller
ITB
San Francisco:
CEO – to be announced shortly
Director of Customer Service – Beth Thomas-Kim
VP, Wine Sourcing & Sales – Ann Feely
VP Operations – Mike Murphy
Director of Marketing – David Ruvalcaba
Director of Wine Sourcing – Tommy Svendberg
Senior Executive Wine Specialist - Christine Cristobal
Wine Specialist – Amy Cameron
Online Content Editor – Levi Hensel
Cellar Acquisition Coordinator – Christina Pate
Hong Kong
Managing Director – Anthony Mak
Executive Wine Specialist – Mabel Ho
I’d imagine that the ones I bolded are all frontline folks. The others are, I think, just title inflation. For example, if the Director of Marketing has more than one or two other people under them I’d be shocked.
I never have really understood the idea of high dollar investment in wine. It’s a simple business at the end of the day - buy wine for one price, sell it for a higher price. Sure, you can facilitate sales or do the Buy/Sell thing witha twist (buying older wines and becoming known as a source for those), and you can provide services around wine like storage and inventorying… but I’ve never understood where the 10x return that VCs typically hope to see would come in a wine based business.
Also, many if not all of the folks in bold have been there for a while. Christine has been there fore several years and I’ve had numerous dealings with her, so it is not like they brouhg in all new people. My understanding from the releases is that Vinfolio retained many of its employees.
FWIW, most of my dealings have been with Beth Thomas-Kim who you do not have in bold.
I think the titles could shade the perceptions of just how many hats I suspect the few remaining employees have to wear.
How many employees did they have before, do you know?
Not sure, but Beth Thomas-Kim told me the inventory process virtually came to a halt come January 15 when they let scores of staff go. And by scores, I mean multiples of 20.
Not enough business.
Margins that were too low.
Too many employees.
Too much overhead.
Acker does much more business with much fewer people.
As my late father use to say, you don’t need to reinvent the wheel.