Boxed Inc., an online bulk retailer that thrived during the pandemic, filed for bankruptcy on April 2.

The New York-based firm listed as much as $102.6 million in assets and up to $190.4 million in liabilities in a Chapter 11 petition filed in the district of Delaware.

Boxed bankruptcy comes after sale attempt

Before filing for bankruptcy, the company was seeking to sell itself with help from Solomon Partners, according to a regulatory filing. In January, Boxed received a $20 million infusion, which briefly improved its share price.

The company said in a separate statement that the voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings are intended to execute a sale of its Spresso software business to its first-lien secured lenders while continuing to streamline operations, including a wind-down of its remaining retail business.

Founded in 2013, the company went public in December 2021 by combining with a special-purpose acquisition company. It’s the latest ex-SPAC to seek bankruptcy protection.

Boxed specializes in delivering wholesale grocery items to residences and offices. Unlike competitors like Costco Wholesale Corp., the firm doesn’t require memberships. Supermarket chain Kroger Co. offered to buy the company in 2018 for $400 million, but the company’s board rejected the offer.

The case is 23-10397, U.S. Bankruptcy Court for District of Delaware.

Ecommerce and sales at Costco, Kroger

Costco reported in March that ecommerce sales dipped 9.6% year over year in its fiscal Q2. For the first half of the fiscal year, Costco ecommerce sales decreased 6.8%. However, Costco net sales for its second quarter increased to $54.24 billion. That’s up 6.5% from $50.94 billion in the year-ago period.

Also in March, Kroger reported a 12% year-over-year increase in online sales during its fiscal Q4. Total Kroger sales were $34.82 billion in the fiscal fourth quarter. That is a 5.2% increase compared with $33.04 billion for the same period in 2021.

Kroger is No. 8 in the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s ranking of the largest North American online retailers by web sales. Costco ranks No. 9. Boxed ranks No. 449.

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