US apparel retailer files for bankruptcy protection
03 Feb '12
1 min read
United Retail Group Inc (URGI), which runs Avenue, the plus-size women's apparel stores, has applied for Chapter 11 relief, that is bankruptcy protection, and it intends to offer itself for an auction sale.
United Retail stated that an affiliate of Philadelphia-based private-equity firm Versa Capital Management LLC, has consented to act as the lead bidder at a court-supervised auction.
Dawn Robertson, Chief Executive Officer of URGI, said they are seeking relief from unreasonably high costs of several lease agreements entered into by the company prior to the economic slump.
Bankruptcy protection and renegotiation of lease would allow continuation and revival of Avenue, he added.
In its petition for Chapter 11 protection filed in US Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan, the New Jersey's Rochelle Park based firm, which operates 433 Avenue outlets in the US, listed assets worth US$ 100 million, and debt of around US$ 10 million.
In 2007, URGI was acquired by Redcats USA, a subsidiary of French retailer PPR (PP), for a price of US$ 198.9 million.