FILE - Rain drops fall on a puddle in an empty parking lot outside a Lord & Taylor store, closed due to the coronavirus outbreak, in Salem, New Hampshire, April 3, 2020.
Retailers Lord & Taylor and Tailored Brands Sunday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, joining a growing list of companies seriously affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
Lord & Taylor is one of the oldest department stores in the United States, dating back to 1826. Tailored Brands is the parent company of Men’s Wearhouse and Jos. A. Bank.
Filing for Chapter 11 allows companies to reorganize their debt to save the business. Most companies filing for Chapter 11 this year were experiencing financial problems prior to the pandemic. For many, the forced closure of nonessential businesses earlier in March exposed their previously existing issues.
Lord & Taylor filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Virginia. It announced the decision on its website and said the company was looking for a new owner. The company was sold last year to French rental clothing company Le Tote, Inc.
Tailored Brands filed in the Southern District of Texas and said its restructuring plan will reduce its funded debt by a minimum of $630 million.
In addition to Tailored Brands, several clothing stores that specialize in professional clothing were hit especially hard by the coronavirus, as many of their former customers began working from home. Brooks Brothers and the parent company of Ann Taylor recently filed for bankruptcy, as well.
Other retail companies that have filed for bankruptcy this year include J.Crew, JCPenney and Neiman Marcus.