Avenue (store)
Avenue Stores LLC is a specialty retailer in the United States offering plus-size clothing to women who wear larger-size clothing. The company serves a target audience of women aged between 25 and 55 years of age, wearing apparel of size 14 or larger. The group operated 222 stores in 33 states in 2019,[1] all under the name The Avenue.[2]
Private | |
Industry | Retail |
Fate | Bankruptcy |
Founded | 1987 | (as The Avenue)
Defunct | 2019 (stores) |
Headquarters | Rochelle Park, New Jersey, U.S. |
Number of locations | 222 (33 states)[1] (2019) |
Key people | Mark Walsh (CEO) |
Products | Clothing, footwear, jewelry |
Revenue | |
Owner | Versa Capital Management |
Website | www |
The company was purchased by Redcats USA, part of the French group Kering, in November 2007.[3]
Early in 2012, United Retail Group, Inc., Avenue's parent company, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and was acquired by Versa Capital Management.
On August 9, 2019, Avenue Stores again filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The case was filed in Delaware as case number 19-11842. According to an affidavit filed by David Rhoads, the company's President and Chief Financial Officer, the company struggled to compete. It planned to use the bankruptcy process to sell its e-commerce business and wind down its physical stores. The e-commerce business maintains the domains: avenue.com and loralette.com SB360 Capital Partners, LLC has been identified as the stalking horse bidder.[4][5]
In October 2019, the e-commerce assets were sold to Australian retailer City Chic Collective.[6][7]
References
- "Avenue store closings 2019: Plus-size retailer files for bankruptcy". www.usatoday.com. Retrieved 2019-08-23.
- "History of United Retail Group Inc. – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- "Cengage Learning". www.cengage.com. Retrieved August 23, 2019.
- "Bankruptcy Filing for Avenue Stores". IBTimes. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
- "New Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Filing - Avenue Stores LLC". Petition11. Retrieved 2020-05-10.
- Acquisition of Avenue’s e-commerce business approved City Chic Collective October, 8 2019
- City Chic broadens US reach with e-commerce acquisition Inside Retailing October 8, 2019