Strauss Discount Auto owner files for bankruptcy protection

Autobacs Strauss Inc., owner of Strauss Discount Auto (formerly R&S Strauss), has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Wilmington after owner Autobacs Seven Co., Japan, "withdrew support," according to an affadavit by newly promoted president Glenn Langberg.

At stores, "it's business as usual," Joe Catalano, a Strauss executive, told me in a voice message. Autobacs "pulled our financing," and "we have to obtain financing which we're in the process of doing."

The company's 86 stores, including about a dozen acquired when Strauss bought the former Penn-Jersey Auto Stores in the Philadelphia area 20 years ago, will stay open as the company reorganizes. Strauss competes with Pep Boys and AutoZone, among other chains.

Autobacs' US unit plans to file for bankruptcy protection in California, Bloomberg reported, adding that the company "lost about $11 million on revenue of about $150 million for the fiscal year ended Jan.3." The case is Autobacs Strauss Inc., 09-10358, US Bankruptcy Court, Wilmington, Delaware.