A client walks previous Century 21 division retailer signage displayed at Metropolis Level within the Brooklyn borough of New York, U.S., on Wednesday, July 19, 2017.
Mark Kauzlarich | Bloomberg | Getty Photographs
The low cost division retailer chain Century 21 has filed for Chapter 11 chapter safety and is closing all of its remaining 13 shops, it introduced Thursday, becoming a member of the dozens of other retailers which have been pushed to the brink through the pandemic.
It stated the choice stemmed from its insurance coverage suppliers declining to pay roughly $175 million due in insurance policies to guard Century 21 from the losses it has suffered all through the coronavirus pandemic.
“Whereas insurance coverage cash helped us to rebuild after struggling the devastating impression of 9/11, we now haven’t any viable different however to start the closure of our beloved household enterprise as a result of our insurers, to whom we have now paid vital premiums yearly for defense in opposition to unexpected circumstances like we’re experiencing right now, have turned their backs on us at this most crucial time,” its co-CEO Raymond Gindi stated in a press release.
The corporate added it will likely be eradicating a lawsuit presently pending in New York in opposition to a number of of its insurance coverage suppliers for failing to compensate the corporate for its losses.
The American Property Casuality Insurance coverage Affiliation has stated that pandemic outbreaks are “uninsurable.” Insurance coverage regulators accredited exceptions for viruses after the SARS outbreak.
Century 21, recognized for its nice offers on garments and equipment, opened its first location in 1961 in downtown Manhattan in New York, and likewise has places in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida.
It stated going-out-of-business gross sales have commenced in any respect of its retailers and on-line.
Proskauer Rose is serving as Century 21’s authorized counsel. BRG is its monetary advisor, with Brian Cashman main as Century 21’s chief restructuring officer. Hilco Service provider Sources is facilitating the going-out-of-business gross sales.
Lockdowns and stay-at-home orders aimed toward halting the unfold of the Covid-19 virus pressured nonessential retailers like Century 21 to briefly shut their doorways. That heightened the ache the trade was already feeling from shifting shopper habits. Among the many firms which have filed for chapter through the pandemic are J.C. Penney, Loft proprietor Ascena Retail Group, True Faith and Fortunate Model.
