B. Moss Clothing, Apparel Retailer, Files Bankruptcy (Update1)
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By Dawn McCarty
Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) -- B. Moss Clothing Co., the New Jersey operator of 70 women’s apparel stores in 16 states, sought bankruptcy protection from creditors with a plan to liquidate its assets at store-closing sales.
The company, based in Secaucus, said it had assets of $13 million and unsecured debt of about $10.3 million as of Nov. 30 in court papers filed yesterday with its Chapter 11 petition in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, New Jersey.
Despite efforts to “cure its liquidity problems and remain in business as a going concern,” the retailer “is now forced, after nearly 70 years in business, to effectuate an orderly liquidation of assets,” Mark McNerney, B. Moss’s vice president, said in court papers.
The retailer said it consulted with its professionals and secured creditor, Wells Fargo Retail Finance LLC, and it was determined that an immediate sale of assets during the holiday season would maximize value for the inventory. The company began “everything-must-go sales” the day after Thanksgiving and intends to start liquidation sales Dec. 5.
B. Moss is asking the court to approve a contract signed before it filed for bankruptcy. The retailer said it entered into an agreement with a liquidation consultant, ARG Recovery LLC, in connection with the store-closing sales.
The company joins more than a dozen retailers to seek bankruptcy protection this year as consumers limit discretionary spending, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Retail filings include Circuit City, Boscov’s, Sharper Image, Mervyn’s, Linens ‘n Things and Value City Department Stores.
The case is In re B. Moss Clothing Co. Ltd., 08-33980, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey (Newark).
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