Late last week, online orthodontics company SmileDirectClub announced it was closing global operations “effective immediately” following a bankruptcy announcement in late September, saying there is “no other viable path” for the company at this time.
According to the company’s website—the content of which is currently only a single-screen customer FAQ page—customers on the company’s SmilePay Plan are expected to “make all monthly payments until payment has been made in full per the terms of our SmilePay program” despite the cancellation of the company’s lifetime guarantee and loss of any customer support.
The website notes that “There will be more information to come once the bankruptcy process determines next steps and additional measures customers can take.”
Following years of losses, poor sales, and nearly $850 million in long-term debt, SmileDirectClub filed for voluntary protection under Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code on September 29. At that time, as part of a restructuring, the company’s founders planned to invest at least $20 million and maintain normal operations; SmileDirectClub believed the restructuring process would be "brief" but were unable to secure additional investors.
“Despite a robust effort to identify prospective investors and partners to successfully recapitalize the business, we were unable to find a partner willing to infuse the necessary capital for the path ahead given the ongoing difficult macroeconomic climate and the decline in discretionary consumer spend,” said a news release about the company closure. “This is tremendously disappointing and is not the outcome any of us wanted, but absent a partner willing to support the recapitalization or a similar transaction, there is no other viable path at this time.”
Accoridng to the New York Times, the company was founded in 2014 and sold teeth aligners online and in its shops for $1,850, serving some two million customers in the US and elsewhere in that time. In its customer statement, the company advised patients needing further treatment to "please consult your treating doctor or your local dentist with any questions around future aligner treatment."
