Archive: Ajay Suresh / Wikimedia Commons / CC BY 2.0
SECAUCUS, N.J. – The Children’s Place, the New Jersey-based children’s apparel retailer, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Sunday, Nov. 8, in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, and the company’s announcement is being reported Monday. It plans to sell substantially all of its assets in a court-supervised process, with the goal of keeping the business running.
The company is asking for bids by Dec. 9 and expects to finish the process by the end of December. No final buyer has been named. All stores and e-commerce sites remain open for now, the company says, but it has determined that some store closures will be necessary. Which locations are affected is still being evaluated, and the company says it will announce decisions as they are made.
The company also expects to secure debtor-in-possession financing to fund operations during the case. That financing is not yet in place and is subject to court approval. It has filed standard motions to keep paying employee wages and benefits and to pay vendors for goods and services after the filing, and it is asking for the case to be recognized in Canada.
If no buyer to continue the business emerges, the company has an agreement with GA Group to help run sales at its stores. The company calls that a fallback, not the outcome it is working toward. It is not a completed liquidation.
Context: We first reported the filing on Sunday night. This update sets out the company’s own account of the process and what customers and workers should expect.
Why it matters: the retailer is a New Jersey employer with stores across North America, and the sale outcome will decide how many stores and jobs survive. Still unknown: how many stores close, who bids, whether financing is approved, and when the court will rule on the sale process.
File photo: a Children’s Place store in New York City. It is not tied to any store closing named in the case.
JBizNews Desk | Secaucus, N.J.
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