New York & Co. Parent RTW Retailwinds Auctioned For $40M

Seven weeks after the corporate parent of New York & Co. filed for bankruptcy, the company is set to be sold, according to a press release.

RTW Retailwinds, a New York-based specialty apparel retailer, announced the Saadia Group agreed to purchase its eCommerce business at a bankruptcy auction Friday (Aug. 28) for $40 million.

Saadia’s winning bid topped Sunrise Brands, a Los Angeles-based clothing manufacturer, of $20 million, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal (WSJ).

The deal is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. A hearing is scheduled for Thursday (Sept. 3), the release stated.

“We are extremely pleased to have received a new, significantly higher priced purchase agreement from Saadia Group for our eCommerce business and all related intellectual property and certain other assets,” RTW CEO Sheamus Toal said in the release. “Similar to our previous agreement, the new agreement will allow our substantial e-commerce business to continue to operate and serve our loyal customers… [W]e look forward to receiving final approval in the very near future.”

In addition to its RTW’s eCommerce assets, Saadia Group will also get its websites, www.nyandcompany.com, www.fashiontofigure.com, and its rental subscription businesses at www.nyandcompanycloset.com and www.fashiontofigurecloset.com, according to the release.

In July, RTW filed for federal bankruptcy court protection.

At the time, RTW said it planned to close most if not all of its 378 stores and outlets in 32 states that do business under the New York & Co. banner, Fashion to Figure and HappyxNature brands. It listed $405 million in assets and less than $450 million in debts in its court filing.

In May, PYMNTS convened an expert panel to consider what would happen next to the $3.7 trillion retail sector when the lockdown ends. “How We Will Shop,” included Cutter & Buck CEO Joel Freet, Natori Co. President Ken Natori; Nick Kaplan, president and co-founder of Fashion to Figure; and Robert Clarkson, senior vice president of global account, business and global partnerships at PayPal.

One thing the panelists agreed on is that they can speculate about where they think retail is going, but it’s impossible for anyone to know for sure.

“I think we’d all agree the second half of this year is something we can all guess at in terms of what’s going to happen, but I don’t think any of us really know for sure,” Natori said. “The stores are going to open, [but] how much do customers go back? How willing are they going to be to shop? How scared are they going to be? That all to me is anyone’s guess.”

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