Nine West Holdings Inc., the group that owns Nine West, Anne Klein, Bandolino and other fashion brands, announced Friday that it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as part of a plan to restructure almost $1.5 billion in debt.
As part of its restructuring support agreement, the company plans to sell off Nine West and Bandolino while focusing on profitable businesses, including Anne Klein, One Jeanswear Group, the Jewelry Group and the Kasper Group, according to a release. Authentic Brands Group, which owns labels including Herve Leger, Juicy Couture, Neil Lane, Frye and Aeropostale, has put forth an initial bid on Nine West and Bandolino, according to the release, but other companies may continue to submit competing bids.
“This is the right step to address our two divergent business profiles,” Nine West Holdings CEO Ralph Schipani said in the statement. “We will retain our strong, profitable and growing apparel, jewelry, and jeanswear businesses and continue to operate them under a new capital structure so that we can leverage their existing strengths to drive even greater growth. Once we complete the reorganization process, our Company will have meaningfully reduced debt and interest costs and be well positioned for the future.”
Thanks to an infusion of $300 million in debtor-in-possession financing, Nine West will continue to operate as normal under the Chapter 11 filing. It will continue to pay employee wages and benefits, pay vendors and honor commitments to retail partners and customers, according to the release.
Nine West was founded in 1973, and named for its original street address in Manhattan.