Anchor Blue Closing Business
The comments on the Anchor Blue Face#8203;book page told the story: The Corona, Calif.–based youth-focused denim company, with a fleet of more than 112 stores, is going out of business.
Rumors that Anchor Blue Inc. was closing the business began circulating throughout the industry on Jan. 4. Although the company’s mall stores continued to do business in the first week of the year, calls to Anchor Blue’s headquarters were not answered. Voice mails and e-mails to the company’s press representatives were not returned.
A denim vendor who worked with Anchor Blue said the company had shut down its operations. “They were having major financial problems, and we had to cancel their orders,” said the vendor, who declined to have his name printed.
Anchor Blue’s Facebook page, however, is filled with farewells from customers and people who identified themselves as Anchor Blue workers.
“I’ve been at Anchor Blue for 11 years and its [sic] finally over,” said Nick Vickery at www.facebook.com/anchorblue on Jan 4. On Jan. 3, Gabryl Scott posted, “We got an e-mail this morning: The company as a whole will be no longer.”
An Anchor Blue customer, Martin R. Paulsen Jr., posted on Jan. 4, “Where am I supposed to get my cool clothes nowhellip;???”
As late as March 2010, the company planned to take a more prominent position at the mall when it had announced the promotion of Chris Finazzo as its executive vice president.
“Anchor Blue is driving to become a strong young-adult brand and the primary destination for denim in the mall with the best assortments, prices and washes focused on a broad customer base,” Finazzo was quoted in a company statement.
However, the company had a history of financial trouble. In May 2009, it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Thomas Sands, Anchor Blue’s chief executive, blamed the poor economy. “The unprecedented downturn and a related drop in consumer spending, especially in the teen-age market, has had a severe impact on our financial performance,” he said in a company statement.
A debtor-in-possession loan facility, provided by company lenders, ensured that the company could continue doing business. In August 2009, it was announced Anchor Blue had emerged from bankruptcy. Private investment firm Sun Capital Partners had a “control” investment in Anchor Blue. Sun Capital Principal Anthony G. Polazzi said, “We believe that the company is well-positioned to capitalize on the rebound in the U.S. retail economy.”
The company had a long heritage in California. It started business in the mid-1970s as Miller’s Surplus and then Miller’s Outpost. In 1981, the company created its own brand, Anchor Blue.—Andrew Asch
