After months of speculation, apparel retailer Forever 21 announced it is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company had been exploring restructuring options to avoid liquidation as its business struggles continue.
Youth-focused apparel brand Madewell is planning to split off from struggling parent company J.Crew and break out on its own by going public as the Madewell Group.
Delicious champagne-flavored gummy bears couldn’t save Sugarfina from filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As sweet as it is, the company fell victim to the decidedly more sour challenges of the current retail climate as it expanded from online to malls.
In a surprising move, Hudson’s Bay Company is selling the storied Lord & Taylor chain, which dates to 1826 in New York, to fashion rental subscription startup Le Tote for a relatively cheap $75 million upfront, and another $25 million via a promissory note in two years.
Luxury retailer Barneys is filing for bankruptcy and closing 15 stores, but will keep a number of doors in major markets open, including its flagship Madison Avenue location even though the rent nearly doubled.
In an effort to cut costs, Walgreens plans to close 200 U.S. stores, two years after it acquired Rite Aid and expanded its footprint to 9,500 stores. The closures are expected to cause “minimal disruption to customers and patients,” the company said in a statement, adding it will find jobs for affected employees in nearby locations.
GNC announced plans to close 900 stores or about half of its total portfolio, with a focus on underperforming mall locations, part of the overall trend of thousands of store closures as fewer people hit the doors with ecommerce growing.
Total back-to-school spending is expected to reach $80.7 billion, down from $82.7 billion last year, according to The National Retail Federation’s annual survey. Here is what retailers can expect from shoppers this school season.
Children might be at the beaches and just beginning summer camp, but back-to-school pundits are busy, with Deloitte predicting total spend of $27.8 billion, up slightly from $27.6 billion last year, for an average of $519 per U.S. household.
It was the power of paying attention that led Andy Dunn, senior vice president of digital consumer brand for Walmart, to launch online men’s apparel brand Bonobos and ultimately change the way he looked at retail.