John Varvatos files for bankruptcy

Menswear designer John Varvatos has filed for bankruptcy. The company listed assets of as much as 50 million dollars and liabilities of 100 million dollars.

John Varvatos Inc is fully owned by Lion/Hendrix Corp, which also filed for bankruptcy according to Bloomberg Law.

Varvatos, who began his career at designers Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein, has been a mainstay of American menswear for 20 years, his collections inspired by a mix of heady rock and roll, tailoring and vintage.

Founded in 2020, John Varvatos built his brand on the premise of “combining distinctive fabrics, heritage-inspired silhouettes, and artisanal details to embody a modern classic aesthetic with an edge,” Joe Zorda, the company’s chief financial officer, said in the filings.

According to Bloomberg the brand sought to appeal to rockers with items such as single-button dinner jackets, Converser Chuck Taylor sneakers and leather biker jackets.

Things got awry two years ago when retailer Nordstrom pulled some of Varvatos’s collections from its stores, resulting in a 2.6 million dollar profit decline from 2018 to 2019, said Bloomberg. The company launched an internal reorganization, bringing in new management and pushing landlords to cut lease payments.

“We have taken decisive action to respond to the challenges that all retailers face in the present environment and we remain extremely confident that our brand, celebrating its 20th year in business, will emerge even stronger. We have a passionate team, a fierce global consumer following and a commitment to our customers, whom we expect to serve for many years to come,” Zorda said in the filings.

The reorganization was showing promise until the coronavirus epidemic hit earlier this year, Zorda said. The company was forced to close all its stores March 18 and laid off more than 200 workers, 76 percent of its workforce.

Image via John Varvatos ; article source Bloomberg