RETAIL
Love Culture Retail Chain for Sale After Filing for Bankruptcy
Love Culture, the Los Angeles–based retail chain founded by two former Forever 21 executives, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
The company said its financial woes began in 2012 when it started aggressively expanding its stores, geared toward the 18- to 25-year-old woman who likes fast fashion at bargain prices. The chain has 72 stores stretching from Massachusetts to Hawaii.
The retailer was started in 2007 by Jai Rhee and Bennett Koo, who had worked at Forever 21. Their stores stocked merchandise with similar price points found at Forever 21.
Love Culture filed for bankruptcy protection on July 16 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, N.J.
Executives said the bankruptcy would allow the retail chain to close unprofitable stores, restructure its debt and possibly sell the venture. Several “financial and strategic buyers” have been interested in the company.
Love Culture, whose net sales totaled $162.4 million in the year ended Feb. 1, 2014, owes General Growth Properties, the second-biggest U.S. shopping-mall owner, $3.9 million on unsecured obligations for store leases. It also owes landlords Simon Property Group Inc., the world’s largest mall owner, about $2 million and a Taubman Centers Inc. affiliate about $1.2 million, court papers show.
