Time Out stores close, operator goes bankrupt

Great United Trading Romania, the company that holds clothing brand Time Out, went straight into bankruptcy, after accumulating a little over one million euros in debt with the parent company in the Czech Republic, which is also a supplier of the nine stores it held in Romania. Great United Trading Romania posted 2.85 million euros in turnover in 2008, but recorded 0.14 million euros in losses. "Midway through last year, the parent company and sole shareholder decided not to carry on doing business in Romania because it already had a little over one million euros in debt to recover. Initially they sought franchisees, but with the severe decline of the fashion market last year, they could not find reliable partners to take Time Out over. There was no more time to search in order to avoid accumulating further debt," George Mihai Petrescu, who managed Great United Trading until December 2009, told ZF. In December management was taken over by the judicial administrator, Intercom Management SPRL.