American clothing company J. Crew filed for bankruptcy protection on Monday, the first major retailer to do so during the coronavirus pandemic.
Crew’s parent company, Chinos Holdings, filed for Chapter 11 protection in federal bankruptcy court for the Eastern District of Virginia after its board reached a decision on Sunday night, following weeks of negotiations over how to handle the company’s overhanging debt. The retailer will restructure by converting $1.65 billion of its debt into equity for its lenders, including the investment firm Anchorage Capital Group — effectively a change of ownership.
“Throughout this process, we will continue to provide our customers with the exceptional merchandise and service they expect from us, and we will continue all day-to-day operations, albeit under these extraordinary COVID-19-related circumstances,” CEO Jan Singer said in a statement. “As we look to reopen our stores as quickly and safely as possible, this comprehensive financial restructuring should enable our business and brands to thrive for years to come.”
In 2011, the retailer was acquired by private equity firms TPG Capital and Leonard Green & Partners in a $3 billion leveraged buyout, while it carried a debt burden of $1.7 billion. With the pandemic closing hundreds of its locations and stock plunges halting J. Crew’s plan to raise funds by taking its Madewell label public, the company was forced to react.
As a result of the coronavirus, retailers have seen a record drop in sales, which contracted nearly nine percent in March, as U.S. gross domestic product fell 4.8 percent in the first quarter of 2020, the worst rate since 2008. The Labor Department has recorded 26.5 million new jobless claims — approximately 16 percent of the country’s labor force — since the shutdowns began in March.