J. Crew is reportedly preparing to file for bankruptcy


J. Crew is preparing to file for bankruptcy, possibly as soon as this weekend, people with knowledge of the matter told CNBC on Thursday.
The New York-based retailer is trying to secure $400 million in financing in order to continue operations in bankruptcy, CNBC reports. The company had been struggling even before the coronavirus pandemic forced it to close its stores in March, although it does have a strong e-commerce business.
J. Crew wanted to take its Madewell subsidiary public in order to help pay down its debt load, but that plan has been abandoned, people familiar with the matter said. In the fiscal year ending Feb. 1, J. Crew had $2.5 billion in sales, and Moody's estimates the company had about $93 million in total liquidity as of February. There are 182 J. Crew and 140 Madewell retail locations.
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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
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