‘There’ll be a lot of people watching’: sell-off of Scott-Bathgate inventory begins

Twenty cardboard boxes of Nutty Club candies, anyone?

How about a pallet of honey roasted peanuts, or another of pink popcorn?

Scott-Bathgate, parent company of the recently shuttered Nutty Club, is selling off its assets via online auctions. Items from its Calgary, Edmonton and Delta, B.C., locations are up first.

“In all my years, I’ve never done one quite like this,” said James Carlson, senior vice-president of Alberta-based GD Auctions & Appraisals.

He’s been in the industry for more than three decades; he’s talked with Scott-Bathgate for about a month. The 120-year-old corporation wound down in January.

At the time, company president James Burt, 90, wanted to retire and said Scott-Bathgate’s business model was “no longer there.” (Burt died in March.)

Now, GD Auctions & Appraisals is liquidating the leftover inventory. Scott-Bathgate stored brands such as Ring Pop candy, Dubble Bubble gum and Cadbury chocolate. It’s selling the sweets on flats, en masse.

“We have, literally, thousands of Pez dispensers and collectible Pez,” Carlson said. “There’s so much (candy). To try and break it down any further, it would just take too much and take too long.”

Coating tumblers and conveyor belts used to make Nutty Club pearled peanuts are also on the market, as are bagging machines and scales. There are baking supplies, office furniture and retail displays.

Carlson expects bulk buyers to flock to the April 30-May 2 online auction. Items from Winnipeg, Scott-Bathgate’s headquarters, are to come later.

The Burt family hasn’t set a timeline for the Winnipeg assets to be sold but it “will be next to take place,” Joe Healey, who is overseeing the closure of Scott-Bathgate, wrote in a text message.

The western online auction (via the GD Auctions website) has staggered start and end times for product sales. Once each time period is to close, a one-minute clock appears. If a higher bid is placed within the minute, the clock resets. This continues until nobody bids within the 60-second slot.

Buyers are responsible for picking up their purchases. (GD Auctions connects out-of-town customers who ask for help with delivery companies, Carlson said.)

Carlson believes Scott-Bathgate’s products will attract mass interest.

“It’s not going to be a big draw for dollars, but I think there’ll be a lot of people watching,” he said. “We’re talking about a company that was around for over 100 years.”

Opening bids vary in price, starting at $5.

The sale of Scott-Bathgate’s inventory isn’t a precursor to selling the company’s Winnipeg property, according to Darrell Burt, the former president’s son.

“Shareholders and management haven’t turned their attention to the property, and don’t expect to in the near-term,” Burt wrote in an email, adding Scott-Bathgate is selling its branch offices in western Canada. Scott-Bathgate has buildings in Winnipeg’s East Exchange area, Saskatchewan, Alberta and British Columbia.

“It’s kind of sad to see another 100-year-old company go,” Carlson said, noting there seemingly aren’t many century-old, Canadian family-owned businesses left.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com