Bankrupt clothing retail chain liquidates, closes all stores

Asserting demand for clothing styles is a key to the success of retail apparel companies.

The Covid-19 pandemic had a devastating effect on clothing retailers, as many faced store closures, supply chain issues, declining brick-and-mortar shopping, and a shift away from place of job attire to more casual styles for folk who do business from home.

Related: Distressed retail food brand files for Chapter eleven financial disaster

The list of clothing retailers filing for financial disaster thanks to the pandemic in 2020 was lengthy. About a of the companies filing Chapter eleven and closing stores were Brooks Brothers, New York & Company, Men's Wearhouse and Jos. A. Banks parent Tailored Brands, and J. Crew.

A couple of department shops that depend upon clothing sales also filed for financial disaster thanks to the effects of Covid, including J.C. Penney, Neiman Marcus, Lord & Taylor, and Stein Mart.

More recently, mall teen clothing retailer Rue 21 filed for Chapter eleven financial disaster in May and shut down all 540 of its locations nationwide.

Similarly to reduced demand for place of job attire with people working from home, the industry has suffered from rising costs of labor and materials. Most apparel makers were hit with a cotton price surge in 2022 that increased costs, cut into revenue, and reduced liquidity.

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And now, struggling casual apparel chain Salt Life will liquidate and shut down its 28 remaining stores in 10 states after brand management company Iconix International and liquidator Hilco Consumer-Retail Group closed on the retailer's acquisition within the Delta Apparel financial disaster case, the companies said in a Sept. 24 statement.

Salt Life to liquidate and shut all stores

Iconix and Hilco plan to transition the Salt Life brand to a wholesale and e-commerce business model after completing the liquidation.

Salt Life, which was founded in Jacksonville Sea coast, Fla., in 2003, began liquidation sales on Sept. 20 at its stores four days after Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein signed an order on Sept. sixteen within the U.S. Economic ruin Court for the District of Delaware approving Iconix and Hilco's purchase of the retail chain.

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Iconix and Hilco were the successful bidders for the Salt Life assets for $38.Seventy four million at an Aug. 27 virtual auction.

An organized wind-down of the Salt Life stores should be completed over the subsequent few months, including all inventory in stores and distribution centers, furniture, fixtures, and equipment. The stores will offer as much as forty% discounts on t-shirts, shorts, performance clothing, hoodies, tumblers and more.

Gift cards should be accepted for the primary 30 days of the sale and may stop being accepted on Oct. 20, 2024. Returns for merchandise purchased before Sept. 20 should be accepted within the primary 30 days of the sale and may stop being accepted on Oct. 20.

All purchases made on or after Sept. 20 are final.

Hilco also will oversee the sale of inventory from distribution centers through a streamlined wholesale process.

Salt Life's former parent Delta Apparel on June 30 filed for Chapter eleven protection on the hunt for a sale of its assets after reduced demand for its products and difficulty obtaining raw materials to manufacture its goods resulted in a decline in liquidity. It also had problems raising capital to fund operations.

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