Saddened to report this, a step back for the budding downtown retail district. Apparently another retail victim of Covid19 Crisis but it appears also to have had large debt.

  • Retailer cites $140 million in debt and other obligations
  • Metro Detroit native opened Detroit location in 2015, thought of as key moment for downtown retail
  • Majority owner plans to purchase company and assets outright

John Varvatos Enterprises Inc., the high-end clothier whose Detroit store opening five years ago was heralded as a new chapter for the downtown retail scene, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware earlier this month, citing the COVID-19 pandemic as the key driving factor after slumping financial performance in previous years.

The eponymous company founded in 2000 by metro Detroit native John Varvatos has a store at 1500 Woodward Ave. in the central business district, although it has been closed for two months since the outbreak of COVID-19, which has killed more than 5,000 in Michigan and more than 90,000 in the United States.

The filing comes as the menswear chain buckles under the weight of roughly $140 million in debt and other obligations to thousands of creditors, and store closings during the global pandemic constricting its revenue stream.

https://www.crainsdetroit.com/retail...tcy-protection