Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of a retailer’s real estate portfolio has always been a critical part of the planning process before commencing a restructuring project. However, in today’s highly disrupted retail environment, the need for clarity on this front is greater than ever. The...
The news is out: retailers are closing stores by the hundreds. Last year, they shuttered upward of 5,800 stores, while the number of closures for 2019 has already eclipsed that mark and is predicted to go as high as 12,000, according to Coresight Research (Figure 1). This may seem like a...
Candidates for independent board of director positions must first gather basic information about the company, including an overall description of the business; a list of its locations and general operations; and details regarding the ownership and its view of the company, stewardship, and near-and...
The current M&A environment for distressed retailers is as tough as it gets when it comes to completing going concern transactions. The majority of recent retail bankruptcies have resulted in going-out-of-business (GOB) sales, liquidation, large-scale job losses, and vacant retail stores...
The retail industry continues to feel the pain of intense competitive pressure and challenging business dynamics. Changes in recent years have resulted in an unprecedented number of store closings and Chapter 11 filings, with many of the country’s most recognizable brands shutting down operations...
Store closures in the first six months of 2019 exceeded the number of brick-and-mortar stores that closed in all of 2018. In this “retail apocalypse,” overleveraged retailers often struggle to salvage a going concern reorganization or sale. As consumers continue to shift their purchases from brick-...
On the heels of 5,864 retail store closures in 2018, at least 8,558 additional stores will close in 2019, a number that could climb as high as 12,000. While the media continues to describe this as a “retail apocalypse,” the fact remains that the U.S. still has much more retail square footage per...
When Kmart was first faced with bankruptcy in February 2002, its leadership was committed to addressing its operational challenges in an aggressive manner. The team enacted a “fast-track emergence” plan, with the goal of exiting bankruptcy by July 2003. Today’s retail restructuring environment...
On Sunday, February 3, 2019, at 6:52 p.m., retailer FullBeauty Brands Holdings Corp. and nine of its affiliates filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York. In re FullBeauty Brands Holdings Corp. , Case No. 19-22185 (RDD) (Bankr. S.D.N.Y.). Less than 24 hours later, FullBeauty...
There has been an explosion of bankruptcy filings that were arguably precipitated by leveraged buyouts and private-equity-backed transactions. Two recent examples are Toys R Us and Sears, both of which were saddled with billions of dollars in debt as a result of leveraged buyouts by private equity...
