Feb. 5 (UPI) — Women’s clothing store Charlotte Russe announced Monday that it filed for bankruptcy and plans to close nearly 100 stores.
The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware on Sunday. It plans to close 94 of its 500 stores while it looks for a buyer for the business and its assets.
The company received $50 million from lenders to continue operating its Charlotte Russe and Peek stores and website through the bankruptcy period.
In a court filing Monday, the company said it “suffered from a dramatic decrease in sales and in-store traffic” and had difficulty maintaining its business underneath “the burden of maintaining a large brick-and-mortar presence,” CNN reported.
Private equity firm Advent International purchased Charlotte Russe in 2009 as part of a $380 million cash-for-stock deal.
The store’s sales fell from $928 million in 2017 to $795 million in 2018, while the company reached a deal to reduce its debt from $214 million to $90 million.
