
Apparel retailer Christopher & Banks, which caters to women over 40, is the latest clothing chain to file for bankruptcy protection amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Minneapolis-based company announced Thursday it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Christopher & Banks said in a press release it "expects to close a significant portion, if not all, of its brick-and-mortar stores." Hours after the bankruptcy filing, liquidation company Hilco Merchant Resources announced store closing sales have begun at all Christopher & Banks stores nationwide. Christopher & Banks said it "is in active discussion with potential buyers" for the sale of its online business and related assets.
Total Retail's Take: While the coronavirus pandemic might have been the final straw for the mall-based apparel retailer, the demise of Christopher & Banks has long been in the making. The company has struggled to consistently post sales and profit gains as fewer people ventured into its brick-and-mortar stores. And as more competition entered the market online, Christopher & Banks never was really able to begin capturing meaningful market share. The core of the business was its stores, and with COVID-19 closing them for a period of time, a recovery became untenable. Now it will see if a buyer steps up, and if so, what that means for the future of Christopher & Banks. Will it re-open soon-to-be-shuttered retail stores? Reposition Christopher & Banks as an online-only retailer? The answers will soon come, but in the meantime other similar mall-based apparel retailers are working feverishly to avoid a similar fate.

Joe Keenan is the executive editor of Total Retail. Joe has more than 10 years experience covering the retail industry, and enjoys profiling innovative companies and people in the space.