Colder’s Buys Flanner’s Assets, Plans Expansion

The Colder’s purchase of Flanner’s Home Entertainment gives new life to the CE specialty retailer two months after it closed its doors in a climate not well-suited to AV specialists. The four-store Colder’s paid $140,000 for Flanners’ name and inventory and the lease on its Brookfield, Wis., store, according to court records. Colder’s, which sells furniture, major appliances and CE, plans to reopen Flanner’s 26,000-square-foot store by fall as a prelude to adding smaller outlets in southeastern Wisconsin, Colder’s executive Randy Felker told us. Details of the expansion haven’t been nailed down, but stores probably will be about the size of Flanner’s 14,000-square-foot showroom, since Colder’s will warehouse inventory, Felker said.

Flanner’s will have separate management, buyers and advertising, Felker said. Colder’s will seek to retain “key” Flanner’s employees, possibly including Flanner’s CEO John Flanner, Felker said. John Flanner said he hasn’t had discussions with Colder’s. Flanner’s had about 60 employees, including store and custom install staff, Felker said. Colder’s will continue the custom install business, he said. “There aren’t a lot of CE specialty retailers” in southeastern Wisconsin, so “we plan to grow it with the same quality of service,” Felker said

Colder’s purchase didn’t include eight Flanner’s vehicles, which will be sold by Doering Leasing. The sale doesn’t raise enough money to pay an $811,213 secured loan that Flanner’s owed First Business Bank Milwaukee. That means there will be no money for unsecured creditors who filed claims, court appointed receiver William Rameker said. Flanner’s closed in late April and First Business sued the chain in May, seeking repayment of the amount remaining on a $1.94 million loan the chain secured in 2006. Flanner’s was said to have had discussions with the investors that helped Ovation Audio Video emerge from bankruptcy.

Privately held Colder’s, founded in 1942 by Henry Felker as Henry Cooler Co., operates four stores in Delafield, Grafton, Oak Creek and West Allis, Wis. The newest store -- the 100,000-square-foot Grafton location -- opened in 2004. Furniture accounts for about 70 percent of Colder’s revenue, while major appliances and CE are about 15 percent each, Felker said. Among the CE brands Colder’s carries are LG Electronics, Monster, Onkyo, Samsung, Sharp and Toshiba. Colder’s major competitor in Wisconsin is American TV and Appliance.

Abt Electronics, which bid about $47,000 for Flanner’s inventory, wasn’t surprised that Colder’s was the winning bidder, considering the wider scope of its offer, said Abt General Manager Philip Hannon. “We weren’t looking to for anything more to do with them other than the inventory, but Colder’s offer wrapped a lot more things into the purchase price,” Hannon said.