https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2023/06/21/forman-mills-245-layoffs-philadelphia-pa-sale.html
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South Jersey discount retailer Forman Mills has warned that it will likely file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection if it cannot find a buyer, causing the company to close stores and lay off hundreds of employees over the next two months.
The Pennsauken-based retailer is currently trying to finalize a sale "as a going concern," according to a letter penned by CFO Kevin Hess and filed with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry on June 12. If it does not find a buyer, Forman Mills expects to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and begin closing stores, including seven in Eastern Pennsylvania.
Founded in 1985 by Richard Forman, Forman Mills sells off-price home goods, apparel and footwear. Four of the retail chain's locations in Philadelphia, as well as stores in Glenolden, Wyncote and Whitehall, would be included in the closures, the state filing shows.
In total, 245 workers across the seven locations will be terminated.
Stores at the following locations in the Philadelphia region would be among the closures:
140 Macdade Blvd., Glenolden
4806-50 Market St., Philadelphia
2900 N. Broad St., Philadelphia
3500 Aramingo Ave., Philadelphia
5694 Rising Sun Ave., Philadelphia
1000 Easton Road, Wyncote
2150 MacArthur Road, Whitehall
Forman Mills may begin closing the stores within the next two months, according to the state filing. The closures and layoffs will be effective Aug. 4, 60 days after notice was given to employees at the seven stores on June 5.
Notice of the layoffs come just a few weeks after Forman Mills laid off 119 corporate employees at its New Jersey headquarters, according to WHYY. A class action lawsuit was filed against the company in response to the layoffs, claiming that the retailer did not give sufficient notice to employees that is required under New Jersey law, WHYY reports.
Forman Mills operates more than 40 stores across nine states. Notices warning of potential store closures and layoffs have also been filed in Wisconsin and Ohio.
Forman Mills also operates stores in Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey and New York. It is unclear if employees at stores in any of these states have been notified of potential closures and layoffs.
Other Forman Mills stores in the Philadelphia region include locations in Pennsauken and Deptford, New Jersey, and in Wilmington, according to its website.
Forman Mills is owned by Goode Partners LLC, a New York private equity firm that acquired the retailer in 2016 for $250 million.
Other current investments in Goode Partners' portfolio include apparel company Marolina Outdoor, restaurant chain Stonefire Grill and Bowlmor Lanes, a bowling alley, sports bar and arcade chain. The firm was previously an investor in La Colombe, a Philadelphia-born coffee brand.
Representatives for Forman Mills and Goode Partners did not immediately respond to a request for comment Wednesday.
Forman Mills is the latest locally headquartered retailer to warn of layoffs as it attempts to find a buyer. David's Bridal, headquartered in Conshohocken, warned of more than 9,000 layoffs and store closings across the nation just days before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in mid-April.
The wedding dress and special occasion retailer also hopes to achieve a going concern sale, the company previously told the Business Journal.
Since selling Forman Mills to Goode Partners, Richard Forman has founded another discount retail chain, Turn 7, which has stores at Philadelphia Mills and Moorestown Mall. He also appeared on a 2015 episode of "Undercover Boss" before selling Forman Mills.