May 4, 2020 - Economy & Business

J. Crew files for bankruptcy

A J Crew shop in New York City.

Photo: John Nacion/NurPhoto via Getty Images

J. Crew filed for bankruptcy Monday, reaching a deal with its lenders to convert $1.65 billion of debt into equity, Bloomberg reports.

Why it matters, via Axios' Dan Primack: It's one of the first major retail casualties of the coronavirus pandemic, though the chain was in serious financial trouble long before. The outbreak forced J. Crew, like its peers, to close its physical stores, but it also scuttled an IPO for jeans unit Madewell, which would have provided the company with fresh capital.

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