As a side node: I am actually thinking of buying a tiny bankrupt travel equipment company. Friends advised against it because of "Amazon essentials". I would not sell on Amazon but it is a strong argument.
Maybe someone has some words of wisdom regarding to this.
What do they have that you want, or what do you think you're going to do differently?
Why did it go bankrupt?
If they claim it's only bankrupt because of COVID-19, then it must not have been very profitable (if at all) if they didn't have enough money to weather out at least 3 months. So I recommend not accepting that explanation.
I was always impressed by the quality of their products. It is a comparatively "old" company, they produce their stuff in Eastern Europe, not Asia.
Why they did not sell?
1. Their webpage looks like from the 90ies
2. No marketing. I think I can solve this, I also have contacts with some small travel agencies. I am sure they would be interested in some affiliate scheme.
3. Has also some niche products where I have contacts in the US (Military, dogs etc.)
Biggest problem is to convince the guy to either sell or take on partners.
I asked this business if I can buy a stake before they filed for bankruptcy because I saw potential and value that I could bring to the company. I still do.
If a restaurant of bakery goes bankrupt I would not want it for free since I don't understand the business, nor can I bring value to the business.
Competitor on what vector? Speaking from a US-centric viewpoint here, but my thoughts;
* Distribution & Warehousing - Walmart & Costco
* Sales & Advertising - Google & Facebook
A few notable online storefronts that are independent and I use frequently are B&H Photovideo and Newegg. Realistically though the options I listed above are the only companies I see having the scale to compete with Amazon at anything, and even then they're an order of magnitude behind. Just my opinion, again very US-centric.