Nine West, known for its fashion footwear, has filed for bankruptcy and will no longer sell shoes.
The struggling women’s chain will instead focus on jewelry and clothing as it tries to unload its Nine West and Bandolino shoe and handbag lines.
Authentic Brands Group LLC, which owns a number of brands, including Aeropostale and Juicy Couture, is interested in adding the flagship products to its portfolio, according to court documents filed at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York on Friday
The retailer’s parent company, private-equity firm Sycamore Capital, owes more than $1 billion to more than 50,000 creditors. Sycamore Capital acquired the company four years ago after Nine West closed 170 stores and cut 10,000 jobs across the country.
The company did not release an official statement on how its stores would be affected this go around, which includes at least four in New Jersey and one at the Sands Outlet in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.
In an emailed statement to USA Today, it’s CEO Ralph Schipani said: “We will retain our strong, profitable and growing apparel, jewelry, and jeanswear businesses and continue to operate them under a new capital structure so that we can leverage their existing strengths to drive even greater growth.”
Nine West joins the many retailers that have sought bankruptcy protection, closed stores or plan to go out of business entirely as more people shop online. Claire’s and Bon-Ton filed for bankruptcy earlier this year, after several dozen others did so last year.
Earlier this year, another struggling brick-and-mortar store, Toys R Us, which is based in Wayne, New Jersey, announced it was closing its US stores including more than 11 in New Jersey.
Many retailers face similar challenges, including big debt loads. Toys R Us, for instance, was weighed down by $5 billion in debt that hurt its attempts to compete as shoppers moved to Amazon.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Taylor Tiamoyo Harris may be reached at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @ladytiamoyo.
Find NJ.com on Facebook
Let’s block ads! (Why?)
