Kelme goes to bankruptcy after losing a lawsuit of 3.2 million

The New Millennium Sports company, distributor in Spain of the Kelme brand and successor of the company created in its day by the Quiles brothers, has requested the voluntary bankruptcy of the Commercial Court number 3 of Alicante, based in Elche, to face a long-standing dispute over a license agreement, official sources at the firm have reported to Europa Press.

The management of the company has taken this decision as a “preventive” measure before the sentence dated September 14, 2021 issued by the Alicante Provincial Court that condemns the company to pay 3.2 million euros for a breach of the contract license with a former dealer that was done in 2007.

However, the resolution of the Hearing is not final, since New Millennium Sports intends to file a cassation appeal before the Supreme Court, as reported by the same sources.

As the company has detailed, this lawsuit is joined by the “delicate economic situation” that, like all firms in the sector, New Millennium Sports was going through as a result of the stoppage and subsequent slowdown in activity due to the pandemic.

New Millennium Sports focuses its activity exclusively on the distribution in Spain of the sports brand Kelme, while the activity of manufacturing, marketing and sponsorship of sports clubs falls to Kelme Sports, a company outside of New Millennium Sports and controlled by the Chinese corporation Yuangxiang, manufacturer of other well-known sports brands in that country.

New Millennium, which was how Kelme was renamed after the Valencian government provided funds through the Tirant venture capital fund to prevent the closure of the historic Elche brand, reached an agreement three years ago to transfer those rights.

Now, the firm is working in parallel and “with total priority” in the design and implementation of a feasibility plan “with the clear objective of guaranteeing business continuity, as well as the maintenance of all jobs”. The firm is in negotiations with the main creditors in order to obtain the approval of an agreement.