Jewelry Warehouse, 228 Knox Abbot Drive: 2 May 2019 7 comments
Well, the situation for Jewelry Warehouse and its associated sports memoribilia stores seems rather confusing. Here is a State story on the situation, and here is one from Columbia Business Report.
I think the upshot is that while there are statements from the business that they will be back, those have probably been overtaken by events (and by the Department of Revenue). The sums owed seem quite large, and I suspect they were optimistically thinking they could turn the situation around, and overextended their resources without being able in the end to make that happen.
(Hat tip to commenter Jimmy)
UPDATE 17 May 2021 -- To be an East Bay Deli:
Also adding map icon.
7 Responses to 'Jewelry Warehouse, 228 Knox Abbot Drive: 2 May 2019'
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Rowen
4 May 19 at 3:44 pm
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Neither news story says anything about sales tax violations that I can see.
ted
4 May 19 at 7:27 pm
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The State's May 4th edition summary: SC Dept. of Revenue pulled their business license due to failure to make retail tax payments of close to 1/2 a million $$$$$$$$$.
I wonder how many months this accounts for.
Joe Shlabotnik
4 May 19 at 10:09 pm
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Hmm. OK, the story I linked from 3 May just says "tax liens".
ted
4 May 19 at 11:03 pm
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I sure hate to see these guys go. One of those "uniquely Columbia" places that couldn't figure out how to survive in this new retail climate.
Heath
5 May 19 at 10:53 am
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The owner, Scott Satterfield posted this on Facebook about what happened (long post):
I know this is long, but it is what I want people to know.
My brother is awesome and has helped me a ton - he said to shorten, and
he’s probably right. I believe people that know me though, may want the
full story so here it is....Friends and family,
What a lousy couple of days! If I’m being honest, what a lousy six years.
It is with great sadness I am writing this.Satterfield’s Jewelry Warehouse is being liquidated as the bank has
called our loan and foreclosure began immediately. Unfortunately, the
Department of Revenue has taken notice and revoked our business license
just as the sale was about to begin. Lawyers are involved and those that
foreclosed are trying to complete a liquidation.
Bear with me
while I open up to give you all the true story and not bits and pieces
of the truth surrounded by a lot of misinformation. This situation has
certainly humbled me and I feel like everyone deserves an explanation on
how we got here.
When our two new locations were built with the
help of a bank loan in 2013, things looked very promising.
Unfortunately, less than 8 months after the loan was issued, and as a
result of the housing crash and the ripple effect that it caused, the
inventory which was used to provide the loan (collateral) was
“re-evaluated” and it was cut almost in half. The new evaluation
resulted in a paper default, and that was the beginning of 6 years of
struggle. The bank dictated what we could and couldn’t do for a period
of time resulting in a significant amount of debt to taxes and vendors.
(They were interested in us paying off their lien first, of course,
which they owned)
During the same time in July of 2013 my wife
was diagnosed with stage 4 breast cancer, and from that point on, my
focus was far more on taking care of her. While our relationship with
each other and God flourished, the business certainly took a bit of a
back seat. My only regret here is she had to spend her last days
worrying about money. Ultimately, she passed away October 3, 2016.Truth is I thought I was spreading my efforts appropriately to take
care of both, working early and late while she slept and tending to her
as needed. But with doctor appointments and hospital stays, it is now
apparent I had not seen many key warning signals. It was only after her
death that I fully realized how many things went unseen and uncorrected.The bank loan was ultimately purchased by another company and the lien
with it, but the financial damage had been done. It created a vicious
cycle of needing to make sales but not having the money to buy the
merchandise. The hole just kept getting deeper and deeper. Selection
suffered and so did sales. From predatory loans, scams, liens, levies,
and (now) licenses revoked, we’ve done it all and we cannot do it
anymore. I’m tired and the only thing that has kept me going is my faith
and the staff.
The staff at our stores has been awesome. They
could have left at any time but they stayed during the illness and
continued through the financial struggles. I am so thankful for each and
every one of them – I feel truly blessed to have them as a part of our
company. Because of their loyalty I promised to work and fight to keep
things going and to flip things over time. They did not quit on me and I
was not going to quit on them and I vowed I would only stop if an
outside source closed us down. Sadly, that has happened but not because
of lack of effort. I tried in every way I could.
I have a house
that has two mortgages, my wife’s life insurance went 100% into the
business and I drive a 7 year old Prius. I took no salary during much of
this time - no off shore bank account or mansion somewhere – this is
all I have. I have told everyone that ever treated me like we had money
that we did not but sometimes people believe what they think and not
reality. I have not nor will I ever try to impress – I will live to
glorify God and no one else.
Speaking of God, that is really why I
am writing this. Apparently, some people use my circumstance to bash
Christianity. God is in control and when things go wrong, I will lean on
him for guidance and direction. The valleys lead to the mountaintops
but we were never promised no struggles. Being a Christian doesn’t mean
my bank account will be full – but God loves me and that is enough…The first lien holder has foreclosed on their lien, and that is where
things now stand. Nothing hidden and nothing directed or coordinated by
me –But apparently the Sales Tax officials think otherwise, but they are
wrong and in time they will see this is true.
Sometimes things
don’t work out and there is no criminal design (people who own
businesses can attest to this I believe). Some people like to try to
create a story when the truth is, I failed. I failed my staff, my
vendors, the sales tax authority, and my family. That is something I
must live with.
Thank you for being a part of our family - We appreciate your love and support.I may be knocked down today, but with God’s help, I am going to try to
get up and continue my story. Hoping many good things will be aheadTom
7 May 19 at 6:50 am
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Thanks for posting, Tom! That's a sad story, but it answers some questions for sure.
Heath
7 May 19 at 11:26 am
The sales tax violations are quite serious, because the merchant is literally stealing taxpayer money. (Sales tax is paid by the consumers, but remitted to the DOR by the retailer). It's up there with failure to remit withholding taxes taken from employee paychecks...