Hilco Merchant Resources, a unit of Hilco Global, announced that it has completed a $40 million deal to purchase all the assets of the venerable golf retail brand Edwin Watts, in partnership with GWNE, Inc., an affiliate of Worldwide Golf Shops. The transaction was approved by the bankruptcy court and closed today, which resulted from the chapter 11 bankruptcy filing by the retailer on November 04, 2013.

Hilco Merchant Resources plans to immediately leverage its extensive retail expertise to assist in the revitalization worldwide of the struggling golf retail chain.  The strategic rationalization of the Edwin Watts store portfolio and its overall retail inventory will include disposing of any surplus retail assets and/or liabilities through a major store closing event commencing on Friday December 06, 2013.  Hilco Merchant Resources and its partner in the deal, GWNE Inc. (the owner of other golf retailers such as Van's Golf Shops, Roger Dunn Golf Shops and The Golf Mart), indicated that it plans to continue to operate a 48 stores under the Edwin Watts name, while disposing of 42 underperforming locations.
 
Cory Lipoff, a principal of Hilco Merchant Resources said "we are thrilled to assist Worldwide as the brand grows from a strong regional player in the golf sector to a significant national player.  As retail specialists, we are certain that the Edwin Watts nameplate will continue to be a strong and significant brand in the retail golf category." 

Lipoff added that "Hilco Merchant Resources' role is to manage all aspects of the strategic rationalization process enabling the management team to focus on the ongoing operations.  In all of our retail transactions we seek to maximize the return on any excess inventory and then work to transition the customer base to new or existing locations while simultaneously minimizing expenses and protecting the brand." 

Located in Chicago, Hilco Global www.hilcoglobal.com  is the world's preeminent authority on helping businesses to maximize the value of their assets.