Alex and Ani items left at its R.I. headquarters are set to be auctioned off
EAST GREENWICH, R.I. — When jewelry company Alex and Ani abruptly vacated its Rhode Island headquarters in June, it left behind thousands of pieces of equipment, and unpaid bills from local business owners, its landlord, and the town of East Greenwich.
On Nov. 13, the equipment and assets left over from the once-successful American jewelry retailer and producer will be sold at an online-bidding-only auction, marking another chapter in the company’s demise.
There are more than 1,800 lots in the auction, and all of the assets are located at the company’s former warehouse at 10 Briggs Drive in East Greenwich. Store fixtures, computers, office and distribution equipment, printers, and many other items were abandoned by Alex and Ani’s executives in June, and left for the property’s landlord to deal with.
Sal Corio, the owner of SJ Corio Company in Warwick, is conducting the auction, and said the bagging equipment alone is worth “more than $200,000” if purchased new.
Corio told the Globe in a phone interview on Friday that he was initially hired in May by Alex and Ani’s Chief Operating Officer Norm Viet. For years, Alex and Ani had handled all of its own distribution, fulfillment, and manufacturing in-house in its East Greenwich plant. Yet in March, Alex and Ani announced it would begin outsourcing its warehousing and fulfillment services to Stord, an Atlantabased company.
Corio said he was brought in by Viet to auction off all the assets in the 125,000-square-foot section of the East Greenwich plant that was dedicated to distribution. They signed an agreement, he said, and then on June 28, Corio arrived for their scheduled meeting to begin tagging items for an auction. But the office doors were locked, the lights were turned off, and no one was answering the phone, he told the Globe.
“I’ve never heard a word from Alex and Ani after that,” said Corio.
Days later, Corio said he spoke to the property’s landlord, Christopher Leahey, who Corio said is “owed millions” by Alex and Ani through the end of their lease in 2025. Leahey, Corio said, asked Corio to move forward with the auction.
“It didn’t make sense for us to sue Alex and Ani if they aren’t even paying the landlord,” said Corio.
When the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2021, Alex and Ani also owed the town of East Greenwich $176,000 in taxes. On Friday, East Greenwich Finance Director Patricia Sunderland told the Globe that Alex and Ani currently owe the town more than $251,000 in back taxes.
Alex and Ani CEO Scott Burger could not be immediately reached for comment on Friday.
It’s been more than two and a half years since the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. For the first time in the company’s nearly 20-year history, it does not have an office in Rhode Island, where it was founded by Carolyn Rafaelian.
Rafaelian, who grew up in and continues to reside in Cranston, R.I., no longer has any ties to the company.
Alex and Ani once employed a team of at least 300 in East Greenwich. In June, Alex and Ani CEO Scott Burger told the Globe the company still had 50 Rhode Island-based employees, and confirmed that it was closing 20 stores, and would keep only seven retail stores open.
It’s unclear why Alex and Ani abandoned the headquarters completely. Their office lease was supposed to run through 2025.
As of Friday, it’s unclear how many employees the company has overall, or in Rhode Island