Friedman's Names CFO, Defaults On Loan

U.S. fine jewelry retailer Friedman's has named Richard Hettlinger as Chief Financial Officer. The company has not had a full-time CFO since Richard Cartoon resigned in May after just five months in the job.

 

Hettlinger, a retail veteran with more than 30 years of experience, served as CFO most recently with The Walking Company. Before that he served as CFO of Paul Harris Stores, and three divisions of The May Department Stores.

“I know he will be a tremendous asset and addition to the management team we have assembled over the past several months,” said Friedman's Executive Chairman of the Board Allan Edwards.

In other news, Friedman's announced that it anticipates defaulting on its credit facility which it entered into earlier this year. Friedman's expects that it will fail to meet cumulative EBITDA requirements for the period ending October 30, a default under its term loan.

“Since finalizing the new credit facility and the Trade Creditor Support Program, we have been working with our vendors to get the inventory levels back to more normalized levels,” said Sam Cusano, CEO of Friedman’s.

“We know our vendors are working through various production processes, but until we get caught up, and as we implement a more prudent credit program, there will be continued pressure on sales and EBITDA. We appreciate our vendors and our lenders working with us through this difficult time.”