Bankrupt RTW Retailwinds Inc. has sold its New York & Co. and Fashion to Figure businesses to Saadia Group LLC for $40 million, plus the assumption of certain liabilities. The move takes the labels distribution solely online and will result in more than 300 store closures.
RTW had entered into an agreement with Sunrise Brands as the stalking horse heading into the bankruptcy court approved auction last Friday. Saadia’s winning bid for the asset purchase supersedes the one RTW entered into with Sunrise. The Saadia agreement still requires bankruptcy court approval, which is slated for a court hearing Thursday.
Saadia’s purchase includes the intellectual property for the two brands, the e-commerce operations, and the rental subscription businesses for both labels. The purchase includes Saadi’s agreement to honor gift cards. Saadia will continue to operate the e-commerce businesses for each brand.
“We are extremely pleased to have received a new, significantly higher priced purchase agreement from Saadia Group for our e-commerce business and all related intellectual property and certain other assets,” Sheamus Toal, RTW’s CEO, said. “Similar to our previous agreement, the new agreement will allow our substantial e-commerce business to continue to operate and serve our loyal customers.”
The sale and move to solely online businesses will also mean the closure of 328 stores and outlet locations across 32 states. The company, which became publicly listed in 2004, was founded in 1918 by Samuel A. Lerner and Harold M. Lane under the name Lerner Shops. It went through several name changes and owners before the final corporate name change to RTW in 2018.
RTW filed its voluntary Chapter 11 petition for bankruptcy court protection on July 13 in a federal bankruptcy court in Newark, N.J. It first warned of the possible bankruptcy in June in a regulatory filing.