Hit the bricks
Physical stores, designers who must…
A tepid holiday shopping season for brick-and-mortar retailers may be claiming its first victims.
With traffic down about 10 percent at stores through Dec. 17, according to Prodco Retail Traffic Index, at least one struggling retailer has been backed into a corner.
Long-suffering Limited Stores — which is down to 240 locations from about 1,000 at its peak in the 1980s, when it was one of the hottest chains in the US — is on the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection, according to reports.
At the same time, at least two veteran New York designers have thrown in the towel this week as the stores that carry their apparel and accessories attract fewer and fewer cus- tomers, The Post has learned.
“Mall traffic is down, and discounting is pretty brutal,” said retail consultant Richard Baum, managing partner of Consumer Growth Partners.
“If the traffic is not there now, who are retailers going to sell to in January when the consumer goes into hibernation?” Baum added.
One designer falling on hard times is Yoana Baraschi, whose fashions have been carried in Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Henri Bendel and Bloomingdale’s, among other stores, and whose duds have been spotted on such celebs as Halle Berry, Sienna Miller and Heidi Klum.
After 15 years Baraschi closed down her business this week, according to industry sources. The Romanian-born Baraschi’s New York City-based oufit had included showrooms in four major cities.
She’s joined by jeweler Gerard Yosca, who is also closing down his three-decade-old business, sources said.
Over the years, his costume jewelry has been carried by the upscale Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman, where he had his own counter.
Yosca’s Web site, which keeps track of all his press clippings — including pieces in InStyle, Real Simple and O, The Oprah Magazine — does not include a single mention this year.
“The bulk of his profitable business was at Bergdorf Goodman, and that’s completely dried up,” said a source familiar with the jeweler.
Both designers did not return calls and e-mails for comment.
Ohio-based Limited declined to comment, but the mostly mall-based chain has been steadily shrink- ing, closing stores and laying off hundreds of employees just this month.
It hired bankruptcy restructuring experts Kirkland & Ellis as its legal adviser, according to Bloomberg News.
Guggenheim Securities and RAS Management Advisors were retained to manage its debt restructuring, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The Limited’s chief executive, Diane Ellis, left in November.
Founded in 1963 and formerly owned by Les Wexner’s Victoria’s Secret, Limited has been owned by private equity powerhouse Sun Capital Partners since 2010.
“Limited is located in a lot of B and C malls, which has hurt it,” said Farla Efros, president of retail consultancy HRC Advisory. “Its problems have been going on for a long time.”