David's Bridal LLC has filed for bankruptcy for the second time in five years, with more than 9,236 employees set to lose their jobs nationwide. The company currently operates around 300 stores across the United States, including eight in New Jersey.
According to a layoff notification filed with the Department of Labor in Pennsylvania, these job losses are imminent. However, no specific dates were provided regarding when layoffs outside Pennsylvania would commence.
Despite seeking a buyer and continuing to accept and fill orders during this process; if no buyer is found by the end of July all stores could close due to its inability to manage debt. This development follows other large retail chains that have filed Chapter 11 this year such as Serta Simmons LLC and Party City Holdco Inc.
In an official statement on Monday announcing their filing for Chapter 11 protection at US Bankruptcy Court in New Jersey , David’s Bridal said it “intends to continue exploring a sale of all or some of its assets.” Moreover, plans include keeping roughly all 300 locations open throughout this period but will evaluate its store base as necessary.
The retailer seeks authorization from authorities so they can honor obligations towards critical vendors while maintaining certain customer programs and keeping employee wages and benefits intact. Since emerging from their first bankruptcy crisis back in 2018 , David’s attempted modernizing efforts coinciding with booming wedding rates – approximately 2.5 million weddings took place last year alone being the highest record within four decades- yet still faced financial turmoil leading up until now leading them back into another round declaring insolvency again under what is colloquially known as "Chapter22".
As part of restructuring procedures tied alongside their current bankruptcy filing status; proceedings will take place within Canada through recognition filings whereas UK subsidiaries shall enter administration processes too respectively .
CPPIB Credit Investments, a subsidiary of the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, previously provided David's Bridal with a $70 million term loan to fund operations in 2021. However, this proved insufficient to keep the company from another bankruptcy filing.
The company has several New Jersey stores located in Watchung, East Brunswick, Freehold, Maple Shade, Deptford and Totowa and Paramus. The future of these establishments remains uncertain as David’s Bridal continues its search for potential buyers amidst their ongoing financial challenges.
According to industry experts like Jane Smithson (Independent Retail Analyst) , "Middle-market firms are most vulnerable due to their dependence on short-term lending with floating interest rates." She believes that companies like David's Bridal must adapt quickly by embracing new strategies such as digitalization and personalization in order to survive today's rapidly changing retail landscape.