New York & Co. in bankruptcy, to close down Connecticut stores
New York & Co. became the latest retailer to succumb to bankruptcy, signaling plans Monday to close all locations, which include stores at the Danbury Fair, Connecticut Post and Westfield Trumbull malls.
Parent company RTW Retailwinds filed Monday for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after warning investors last month of the possibility. RTW plans to continue reopening New York & Co. stores “when and where appropriate” for clearance sales, while evaluating any bids for its brand and online business.
RTW and New York & Co. had nearly 5,000 employees as of February, with the company having furloughed most workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In March, the company named a replacement for CEO Greg Scott after announcing his resignation, only to replace the new CEO within a month and slot its chief financial officer into the top job.
Two years ago, New York & Co. marked a century of business. The company recently counted more than 385 U.S. stores, but that was after closing more than 30 over the 12 months preceding the pandemic.
Elsewhere in Connecticut, New York & Co. has stores at the Brass Mill Center in Waterbury, Foxwoods Resort Casino and The Shoppes at Buckland Hills in Manchester.
The bankruptcy is the latest to impact malls this year, with J.C. Penney the most prominent name to bow out, with others including Brooks Brothers, J.Crew, Lucky Brand, Neiman Marcus and True Religion.
RTW owes creditors $450 million, with the value of its assets totaling about $409 million. The Manchesterbased commercial printing company Allied Printing is among RTW’s larger creditors, owed more than $1.2 million in debt that is not secured by RTW assets.
RTW absorbed a $61.6 million revenue loss for the fiscal year ending in February, after booking a $4.2 million profit the year before.