SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- NJOY, one of the first independent U.S. manufacturers and distributors of e-cigarette and vaping products, declared bankruptcy last week citing an accumulated deficit of $234.4 million and $16 million currently in accounts payable, according to bankruptcy documents.
Filed on Sept. 16, Chapter 11 documents detail NJOY's attempts at product innovation, the market challenges it faced and its ultimate attempt to sell the company in recent months, a McLane/CSP Daily News Flash reported.
The bankruptcy comes as the e-cigarette category showed “solid gains” in the past four reporting weeks, primarily due to pricing and promotional activity from the major tobacco manufacturers, according to Bonnie Herzog, managing director of beverage, tobacco and convenience-store research for Wells Fargo Securities, New York. In her most recent newsletter, Herzog called the NJOY bankruptcy a sign the category is “undergoing greater competition.”
Here’s why Scottsdale, Ariz.-based NJOY said it filed for bankruptcy …