Scooter Store 'navigates path forward'

NEW BRAUNFELS, Texas - In the wake of laying off most of its workforce, The Scooter Store has turned its focus to moving forward.

Scooter Store CEO Martin Landon informed employees March 19 that a furlough announced March 8 would become permanent on March 31 for all but 300 of its 1,800 employees. The remaining employees—117 in New Braunfels and the rest in the field—will “assist in meeting customer requirements and supporting operations,” Landon stated in an email to employees.

The Scooter Store, working with AlixPartners, a Michigan-based consulting firm, now plans to work on three key priorities: operating the business and serving customer needs; partnering with lenders to create a path forward; and creating a sustainable business model.

“I am encouraged that the company's lenders are working with us and providing sufficient liquidity to help us navigate a path forward,” stated Larry Young, chief restructuring officer and managing director at AlixPartners, in an emailed statement to HME News.

Sun Capital Partners, a senior secured lender, referred questions about The Scooter Store's financial situation to AlixPartners.

In other news at The Scooter Store last week, a furloughed mobility specialist sued the company citing the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN). The WARN Act requires employers to provide a minimum of 60 days' prior written notice of terminations, according to the lawsuit. Anna Urbina is seeking certification as a class action lawsuit so other Scooter Store employees can be included in the complaint, the article noted.