US clothing retailer Urban Brands Inc has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but plans to sell the assets of its Ashley Stewart women’s wear business to a new entity called Ashley Stewart LLC.
The company, which operates around 210 Ashley Stewart stores selling plus-size clothing geared towards African-Americans, said it has signed a non-binding letter of intent with the new Ashley Stewart to sell to its assets through a court-supervised bankruptcy auction.
In a filing in the US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware, the New York based company cited debt of $100-500m and assets of $10-50m. It posted a net loss of $28.6m in 2009 on sales of $174.6m, but was forced to seek bankruptcy protection after failing in its attempts to secure additional financing earlier this year.
