Tuesday, July 14, 2020

200 Years Brooks Brothers

Brooks Brothers, Founded in 1818, Files for Bankruptcy - The New ...Brooks Brothers, one of America's oldest clothing brands, has become the latest US retailer to file for bankruptcy protection. The menswear company, which is more than 200 years old, sought court protection from creditors on Wednesday while it looks for a buyer. It had already shut some stores and prepared to close its US factories. 

The company dates back to 1818 and its clothes have been worn by dozens of US presidents, including John F Kennedy and Barack Obama. It operates about 500 stores globally, roughly half of which are in the US, and employs more than 4,000 people.

Since 2001, it has been owned by Italian businessman Claudio Del Vecchio, whose family founded Luxottica. Marks & Spencer owns it between 1988 to 2001. 

Online Competition - The firm has struggled as more casual office attire has become the norm and online competition has increased. The sale of the business was being explored as a possibility, before the pandemic struck. The company said it expected to complete the process in the next few months.


Brooks Brothers styles itself as a classic American brand. It takes credit for popularising "preppy" men's staples in the US, including madras prints, seersucker suits, argyle socks and the ever-present button-down shirt.

In a court filing, the company stated that it had both assets and liabilities between $500m and $1bn. T
he company had already said it would close 51 stores in the US. It employed nearly 700 people at the plants in New York, Massachusetts and North Carolina.

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