Men’s Wearhouse Owner Files for Bankruptcy (Published 2020) (2024)

The owner of Men’s Wearhouse and JoS. A. Bank, which once dominated the market for affordable men’s suits, filed for bankruptcy protection late Sunday, as demand plummeted for its corporate clothing with the coronavirus pandemic keeping America’s office workers at home.

The company, Tailored Brands, had about 1,400 stores and 18,000 employees. It had already announced plans in July to eliminate 20 percent of its corporate jobs and close up to 500 stores, and on Sunday said it planned to use the restructuring process to slash its debt by at least $630 million.

“Our enduring commitment to help customers look and feel their best will allow us to overcome the challenges of Covid-19,” Dinesh Lathi, chief executive of Tailored Brands, said in a statement accompanying the filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The apparel industry has been hit particularly hard by the pandemic, prompting bankruptcy filings from retailers like the Neiman Marcus Group, J. Crew and J.C. Penney. Lord & Taylor, once a major presence in America’s department stores, and its owner, Le Tote, filed for bankruptcy several hours before Tailored Brands on Sunday. The owner of Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant, Ascena Retail, which just a few years ago was one of the country’s largest retailers for affordable professional clothing for women, sought Chapter 11 protection on July 23.

Many clothing stores shut their doors during the lockdowns, leading to unpaid rents and staff furloughs. Brick-and-mortar retailers had already been struggling to adapt to the rise of e-commerce and changing consumer behavior.

With millions of Americans unemployed or working from home, and a pause on proms and weddings, demand has plummeted for Tailored Brands’ core product: men’s suits. The company reported that in the three months that ended on May 2, net sales fell 60.4 percent from a year earlier.