The discount department store chain Century 21 has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and is closing all of its remaining 13 stores, joining the dozens of other retailers that have been pushed to the brink during the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision stemmed from its insurance providers declining to pay roughly $175 million due in policies to protect Century 21 from the losses it has suffered throughout the coronavirus pandemic.
The company will be removing to the bankruptcy court a lawsuit currently pending in New York against several of its insurance providers for failing to compensate the company for its losses.
The American Property Casualty Insurance Association has said that pandemic outbreaks are “uninsurable.” Insurance regulators approved exceptions for viruses after the SARS outbreak.
Century 21, known for its great deals on clothes and accessories, opened its first location in 1961 in downtown Manhattan in New York, and also has locations in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida.
It’s going-out-of-business sales have commenced at all of its shops and online. Proskauer Rose is serving as Century 21′s legal counsel. BRG is its financial advisor, with Brian Cashman leading as Century 21′s chief restructuring officer. Hilco Merchant Resources is facilitating the going-out-of-business sales.
