No Chapter 11 Bankruptcy for Island Pacific, 3Q Says

March 17, 2009 Alex Woodie

Australia-based 3Q Holdings Limited took the unusual step of clarifying the health of one of its assets, i OS merchandise management system (MMS) developer Island Pacific, last week to head off any confusion surrounding the Chapter 11 bankruptcy of Retail Pro, which sold Island Pacific to 3Q more than a year ago.

Retail Pro, a developer of Windows-based point of sale (POS) software that’s based in San Diego, California, filed for bankruptcy protection on January 10. In addition to Retail Pro, several Retail Pro subsidiaries, including Page Digital, IP Retail Technologies International, and Sabica Ventures, were also included in the bankruptcy filing.

3Q Holdings want it to be very clear that Island Pacific is not in any way part of Retail Pro’s Chapter 11 proceeding. “It is important that we clear up this misperception for our customers, prospects, and partners,” Davy Rosen, CEO of Island Pacific, stated in a press release. “We want to reiterate that Island Pacific is a completely separate company that is not affiliated with Retail Pro.”

It’s easy to see why some people could be confused.

Before Retail Pro sold its Island Pacific Management System (IPMS) division to 3Q Holdings for $16 million in December 2007, the company alternated between using the legacy Island Pacific name and the new Retail Pro name. It’s obviously not the only entity in the midrange to fluctuate between names, or to hang on to an old name that has become ingrained into the market’s psyche. But it happened nonetheless.

There should have been no confusion after the deal went through and Retail Pro moved its headquarters south from Irvine, California, to La Jolla, California. At that point, Retail Pro was clearly a separate entity, and did not waver in calling itself Retail Pro.

But the use of both names prior to the deal–as well as the fact that some people may not have known about the acquisition and still associate Island Pacific with Retail Pro–could have led to the confusion.

In any event, the Island Pacific business, which is still based in Irvine, is alive and well, Rosen says. “Island Pacific is an ongoing and viable entity with a healthy sales pipeline and is engaged in many projects throughout our customer base,” the CEO says.