Brooks Brothers files for bankruptcy protection

Brooks Brothers, a collegiate menswear brand founded in 1818, is the latest retail victim filing for bankruptcy protection.

The 200 year-old company is hoping to keep creditors at bay while it searches for a buyer. The upmarket retailer is owned by Luxottica founder Claudio Del Vecchio, who bought the company from Marks & Spencer in 2001.

Brooks Brothers has already shut some stores and prepared to close its US factories, reports the BBC. Other retailers who have filed for bankruptcy during the pandemic include J Crew, JC Penney and Neiman Marcus.

“Industry headwinds were only intensified by the pandemic,” Mr Del Vecchio told the BBC “Seeking protection to facilitate an efficient sale of the business is the best next step for the company to achieve its goals, over any other alternative.”

In a court filing, the company stated that it had both assets and liabilities between 500 million and 1 billion dollars.

Mr Del Vecchio told the New York Times in June the company was taking steps to remain operational, employing nearly 700 people factories in New York, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

“At this moment, all resources need to be maintained and saved to make sure we can come out on the other side of the crisis,” he said.

Photo credit: Brooks Brothers