Autobacs Strauss Inc., an after-market auto parts retailer operating as Strauss Auto, sought bankruptcy protection after its Japanese parent company stopped supplying it with funds. The South River, N.J., company said in Chapter 11 documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington that it had assets of $75 million and debt of about $72 million as of Jan. 3. According to the filing, Autobacs USA Inc., which holds 100 percent of the company and is a unit of Tokyo-based Autobacs Seven Co., will file for protection in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California. Autobacs Strauss operates 86 after-market auto parts retail stores in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania (11 of them in Philadelphia).
