The Fortunoff and Mayrock families, who built the regional retailer of gifts, housewares, furniture and jewelry over four generations, have recently purchased all the intellectual property rights of the now-bankrupt firm and are exploring ways to re-launch the brand, according to a report from NewsDay.com report.  

Fortunoff’s famed Fifth Avenue store.

The $1.8 million purchase was approved on July 6 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan included the brand name, related trademarks, customer lists, domain names and copyrighted material, the report stated. 

Since filing for bankruptcy protection in February, Fortunoff has been liquidating its assets and NRDC Equity Partners LLC (the owner of Lord & Taylor department stores ) couldn’t find a buyer for the retail chain.

“We didn’t make this investment for posterity, and we didn’t just want to buy the name so no one else could use it,” said David Fortunoff in the NewsDay.com report. “This is an investment for us. We are still passionate about bringing products to the marketplace.”

Re-launch plans have yet to be announced. Time is on the Fortunoff’s side given the languishing economy. “Whatever we do, it’s unlikely to be identical to the past,” Fortunoff added in the report. “It is likely to include e-commerce. It might include product licensing. It may involve retail and brick-and-mortar retail in some capacity.”

JCK