Is Rogers Retailer in Hot Water?
by February 20, 2012 5:10 pm 105 views
We heard some talk about a new suit from Bauman’s Inc., but it wasn’t of the Canali or Hugo Boss variety.
Instead, the Little Rock fine men’s clothier, owned by Wayne Ratcliff, has filed a lawsuit in Benton County Circuit Court against Sartorial LLC, the company that operates a store under the Bauman’s name in Rogers.
The two companies entered into an exclusive licensing agreement in 2009, but Bauman’s claims the agreement has been breached and wants to part ways.
Rogers attorney Kenneth Shemin gave Sartorial LLC notice of its plans to terminate the licensing agreement by way of a letter dated Dec. 6.
Sartorial, according to Bauman’s, failed to pay monthly licensing fees and, worse, failed to pay for inventory from shared vendors in timely fashion, which “substantially impaired” Bauman’s reputation with its suppliers.
The letter gave Sartorial until Jan. 15 to remove the Bauman’s name from the Rogers store and to stop using any “intellectual property” belonging to Bauman’s.
The letter lit a fire under Sartorial, which subsequently “made certain payments that were due and owing to Bauman’s Inc.,” according to the complaint filed Feb. 10. But that didn’t change Bauman’s plan to end the agreement and get its name off the Rogers store.
Sartorial has 30 days from the date of service to respond.
In December, Donny Hubbard, then general manager of the Rogers store, sent a pair of emails to friends and clients explaining his intention to pursue “a new opportunity that I believe will be a great career move for me and an exciting adventure for my family.”
Some of the language in the emails indicated Hubbard might continue working for Bauman’s in some capacity, but a source of both stores said that’s no longer the case. Hubbard did not return calls seeking comment.