Northwest Arkansas Bankruptcies - NU U Day Spa
Jason Alan Fetcher, dba Nu-U Day Spa And Salon, dba Nu-U Sunbath, dba Nu-U Dayspa, dba Fetcher Development, 210 S. Napier, Greenland; Chapter 7; $618,782 debt filed Aug. 6; $9,613 assets
Entries Tagged as 'Spa Bankruptcy'
Solana Med Spa Chapter 7 Bankruptcy filing Medspa Closings
BANKRUPTCY FILING
As the economy slows, the nationwide Solana chain of 50-plus franchised medical spas has locked its Irvine headquarters, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, shut down its Web site, and disconnected its phone. Their website indicates that another site is being developed by Higher Images. Higher Images is a SEO and Internet Marketing and web design company.
The following is from a Medspa Blog:
Solana Medspas is out of business?
Sunday, June 29, 2008, 10:15:16 AM | Jeff Barson
Seems that Solana Medspas site is down. I’ve received two emails this morning asking if they’ve gone out of business and this comment on a Solana discussion thread in the forums:
“Well it looks like Buckingham and company can’t hurt anyone else. The website is down and they are nowhere to be found. Hey, Over It…the truth hurts. Are you sure you aren’t a Solana Owner in denial or just covering your rear end? Between the University of Arizona charges, Brooks College 60 Minutes expose and firing, Health West fiasco and connections, continuing client failures, deadbeat dad website stating a failure to pay tens of thousands in child support to his ex-wife (which was the final straw on why we didn’t contract with Solana), etc… Wake up everyone associated or affiliated with Buckingham. it is time you recognize him for who he is before he hurts more people.”
I don’t know why the Solana Medspas site is down but it can’t be a good sign. (The first time you load the page you may see a little ‘Solana Medspas Logo’ flicker for just a second before you’re redirected to the under construction page. This is usually a sign that the ISP has suspended the account.”
Neither the company’s chief executive, William Maya, nor its bankruptcy attorney could be reached for comment.
The company founder, John Buckingham of Mission Viejo, said he sold Solana on Nov. 20 to a private equity company in San Clemente and could not speak in detail about its current status.
Buckingham remained a director of the company, which helped entrepreneurs set up medical spas that provided spa services plus non-invasive cosmetic medical procedures such as Botox injections.
As recently as March, Buckingham predicted that the nation’s economic slowdown would help Solana MedSpas by freeing up new retail locations for its medical spas.
In an interview with CNN/Money, he said he was “excited about taking advantage of this year’s store vacancies to open another 20 locations in malls.”
At that point, he said Solana had 50 spas “located in upscale strip centers and lifestyle centers, which are typically open-air malls.”
In May, Solana struck a deal with cosmetic-laser company Cutera Inc. of Brisbane, Calif., which declared Solana the “preferred provider” for its products at medspas nationwide.
That announcement said Solana “has sold over 70 stand-alone retail med spas with others scheduled to be opened in 2008” and had established a new division, Solana MD, to open aesthetic spas in doctors’ offices.
Solana’s filing said it had $370,028 in liabilities but assets of only $11,713.
FRANCHISE ADS
Solana MedSpa franchises are still listed as for sale on franchising Web sites, with a total investment of $400,000 to $780,000.
The Franchise.com site, for example, says:
Solana MedSpas has forged a new medical spa model by combining cutting-edge aesthetics and wellness technologies with traditional spa therapies in a retail environment.
In a short period of time, Solana MedSpas has become a nationwide leader in medical spa development with a growing network of uniquely branded medical spas. With an emphasis on regulatory compliance, healthcare innovation, education, marketing and customer service, Solana MedSpas has emerged as the fastest growing developer of MedSpas in the US.
The Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing means that the company will be liquidated, not reorganized.
BANKRUPTCY DETAILS
Solana’s current owner is Strategic Connections L.P., which is listed in the July 7 bankruptcy filing as “c/o WEM Management Company, 422 Avenida Salvador, San Clemente.”
The company’s largest listed creditor is its owner, which had floated it a $160,000 loan.
Solana said it had income of $456,989 so far this year from its consulting services to owners and operators of spas.
It paid Maya $161,112 in salary from Nov. 24, 2007, through June 24, the bankruptcy filing said. Buckingham’s salary for that period was $148,918.
The one company-owned medical spa, Resolutions, A Solana Medspa, also filed for bankruptcy under its legal name, Solana Medspa Development LLC.
The Resolutions medspa, located in a Rancho Santa Margarita shopping center, closed suddenly two weeks ago without explanation, said a hairdresser working in the adjoining hair salon.
The medspa listed assets of $11,713 and liabilities of $121,329. It cited $0 as the value of its unsold inventory of cosmetics, cosmeceuticals and Botox, which were purchased for $51,388.
Irvine-based Allergan, the maker of Botox, is its largest creditor. The medspa owes Allergan $49,260, the filing said.
The Resolutions spa had income of $225,555 so far this year, its filing said.
