More jobs at risk in Oklahoma

  • June 16, 2020

While the oil and gas industry has lost 100,000 jobs this year, other industries are suffering too.
The Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development reports that The Children’s Place will be closing 300 stores nationwide. Oklahoma has 8 stores in Oklahoma City, Tulsa, Lawton and Ardmore. It’s unclear if any of the 8 will be among the 300 to be closed.
Tailored Brands is suffering and leaders are considering several alternatives including filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization or Chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidating all stores. The firm, according to a notice from the Oklahoma Office of Workforce Development might also shut down a large number of its stores and make layoffs of employees.
Tailored Brands includes five Men’s Wearhouse locations in Oklahoma, five Jos. A. Banks stores and one K and G store.
Houston-based company — parent to Men’s Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Moores Clothing for Men and K&G — wrote in a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that the coronavirus crisis has caused “significant disruptions” to its day-to-day operations.

Since mid-March, many of the retail group’s stores, as well as its corporate offices, were temporarily closed in accordance with government-mandated lockdowns. Tailored Brands made the decision to furlough more than 95% of its workforce and implement salary reductions for senior-level executives. It also noted that both the market price of its common stock and total revenues had declined over the past couple months.

“If the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic are protracted and we are unable to increase liquidity and/or effectively address our debt position, we may be forced to scale back or terminate operations and/or seek protection under applicable bankruptcy laws,” it shared.

Tailored Brands also requested a 45-day extension to file its first-quarter financial results, which is expects to be released no later than July 27. In the meantime, it presented preliminary numbers for the three-month period ended May 2: Revenues plunged 60.4% to $286.7 million, as all stores remained closed through the end of the quarter.

On May 7, the company began to open stores across North America and currently has 634 stores back in business. For the week ended June 5, with those outposts open for at least one week, the average same-store sales performance at Men’s Wearhouse was down about 65%, while Jos. A. Bank’s and K&G’s comps dropped a respective 78% and 40%.

Tailored Brands has roughly $244.2 million of cash and equivalents, while its long-term debt totals approximately $1.4 billion. It has accessed $310 million of additional borrowings from its credit facility to bolster its business, as well as deferred operating expenses and inventory purchases.

“While it’s still early and the operating environment remains highly uncertain, we anticipate sales will rebuild gradually during the remainder of the year,” president and CEO Dinesh Lathi said in a statement. “We are planning the business conservatively and will continue to operate with discipline to preserve our liquidity as we navigate this uncertain environment.”

Source:Footwear News

Jerry Bohnen