RALEIGH, N.C. -- The state of North Carolina has dissolved the Guess Corp., a business that set its sights on becoming a force in the convenience-store industry with an aggressive store-development plan and a secondary chain of "ultra-luxury" c-stores.
"The Guess Corporation has been administratively dissolved ... for failure to file required annual reports on or before the date due," North Carolina Secretary of State Elaine Marshall wrote in a certificate dated Sept. 22.
The Guess Corp., Raleigh, N.C., claims to be in many business, including diamonds, yacht sales, construction and hospitality. In the past three months, the company has said it:
- Will buy 1,000 convenience stores to operate under its GP Express brand.
- Released drawings of the store design.
- Announced a restaurant concept—The Guess Bread Co.—that would provide foodservice to the c-stores.
- Requested applicants to become approved store operating partners.
- Launched the concept of a chain of “ultra-luxury gas/convenience stores as country clubs with memberships required” open to "households with a net worth exceeding $50 million."
The Guess Corp. has the option of requesting reinstatement in North Carolina, and some of its secondary arms—The Guess Bread Co., Guess Constriction Co., Guess Development Co. and Guess Petroleum, among them—have retained their corporation status.
CSP questions the legitimacy of the Guess Corp. and offers the caveat that little is known about it.
CSP Daily News has been studying the Guess Corp. since its first press release came out in July. Watch for a complete report in coming days on CSPDailyNews.com.
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