Brooks Brothers, famous for its pinstriped suits worn by 40 of the 45 U.S. presidents and legions of executives since its 1818 founding in New York, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing the impact of COVID-19 as a major factor. The company, with $1 billion in sales and $300 in debt, expects to find a buyer shortly.
Following in the footsteps of JC Penney and others, struggling rollup Ascena Retail Group said it plans to pay up to $5.5 million in retention awards and performance bonuses and undo pay cuts to top executives, as it reportedly weighs a bankruptcy filing in the face of its debt and declining sales.
Shortly after J.C. Penney filed Chapter 11, Amazon reportedly was in talks about possibly picking up the troubled store chain on the cheap. The plan calls closing 242 of 846 stores by 2021, setting up a real estate investment trust (REIT) to handle the balance of its physical assets and receiving $900 million in debtor-in-possession financing.
What should the growing number of retailers weighing bankruptcy be considering, and what kinds of restructuring plans should they set up? Attorney Thomas Wolford, a partner with Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, gives us an insider’s look at what goes on from filing through re-emergence in this MCM CommerceChat podcast.
Neiman Marcus Group, owner of the 43-store chain of the same name as well as two Bergdorf Goodman locations and Last Call discount shops, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection as expected, in the process securing $675 million in loans from creditors. The filing also calls for a long-term plan to eliminate $4 billion of debt.
Retail was a mixed bag this week, as over a dozen states have begun to slowly reopen, working to come out the other side of the COVID-19 shutdown. Some retailers and malls are doing the same, hoping that enough returning shoppers and their pent-up demand for goods will help with massive cash flow and viability challenges.
To meet demand for hand sanitizer in the midst of COVID-19, Soapbox reached deep into its supply chain to procure supplies and produce 3 million+ bottles of sanitizer in 2 weeks for major retail clients. David Simnick, CEO, and Daniel Doll, president and COO of Soapbox, talk about how they pulled off this massive undertaking.
Similar to XPO Logistics’ decision to postpone its exploration of divesting assets due to current market uncertainty caused by coronavirus, a bankruptcy court judge has granted a 45-day stay on the Chapter 11 filing of sporting goods retailer Modell’s due to the ongoing crisis and its impact on closing sales.
The National Retail Federation and the International Council of Shopping Centers are asking the Trump administration and the federal government for relief for members who are being hard hit by the coronavirus crisis, much as are other industries such as airlines and hospitality, as mall, store and restaurant closures grow.
At Modell’s Sporting Goods it’s game day, every day. So says the Facebook page banner video, but Chapter 11 bankruptcy day is looming for the nation’s oldest family-owned and operated sporting goods retailer. CEO Mitch Modell confirmed the retailer stopped searching for a rescue investor, and a bankruptcy filing is imminent.