Over 10 leading apparel brands sourcing from India have either filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy recently or are planning to do so soon.

JCPenney, LOFT, Ann Taylor, True Religion, J Crew, Lucky Brand, G-Star, Muji (in the US), Men’s Wearhouse and few more apparel giants have either filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy recently or are in the process for the same.

The major concern for Indian companies is top players like Ascena Retail Group and JCPenney, used to place huge orders and shared long-term business relations with India. Though the sourcing of JCPenney had already been reducing from India in recent years, the company still used to source apparel and home furnishing (combined) worth Rs. 1,600 crore. On the other hand, Ascena Retail Group’s (Ann Taylor, LOFT) annual sourcing from India was around Rs. 2,000 crore till last year and it used to source from at least 67 Indian factories, while at the global level, it was associated with around 600 facilities.

Chapter 11 has also become a tool for a few companies to utilise their money and turn their accounts healthier. While some existing suppliers strongly believe that these brands and retailers still have good potential and can revive in future, others feel that it is too early to comment on the same. A lot of things depend on the support from the US Government, which is yet to be announced.