The court approved bidding procedures for a sale of substantially all Beauty Brands assets, using Absolute Beauty, LLC as stalking horse under a January 22 APA. The process covered the operating business, assumed contracts, the distribution center, and 23 core stores, while excluding 23 closing stores already subject to a Hilco agency agreement. The bidding procedures and sale hearing order also approved bid protections as administrative expenses and set the auction for February 7, 2019 at 9:00 a.m. ET in Wilmington.

This matters because the case moved quickly from Chapter 11 filing into a controlled 363 sale process, with the estate trying to preserve going-concern value around a defined stalking horse bid while continuing store-closing activity elsewhere. Contract counterparties also received separate assumption and cure objection deadlines, including a February 6, 2019 deadline for contract objections and a February 11, 2019 deadline for adequate-assurance objections tied to the successful bidder.