Teen Girls Clothing Retailer Delia's to Liquidate
Updated March 30, 2021, originally posted on December 5, 2014
Delia's has announced plans to file for bankruptcy and liquidate its assets. The retailer of clothing and accessories for teenage girls announced it a press release that it has entered into an agreement with Hilco Merchant Resources, LLC and Gordon Brothers Retail Partners, LLC to liquidate all merchandise.
Delia's operated mall-based retail stores, the delias.com website and a mall order business. Delia's press release says sales of merchandise may begin as early as December 5, 2014. This means going-out-of-business sales at some Delia's stores could start at any time. It is also possible the merchandise could be purchased by another store. Delia's has about 90 to 100 mall stores spread across the U.S. according to the store locator on its website.
A Reuters story says Delia's was unable to sell itself or obtain financing following a strategic review in September. Reuters says fast fashion chains like H&M and Forever 21 have caused problems for Delia's.
Liquidations are not great for the retail industry or mall operators. They create vacancies in malls and reduce revenues. They also make it temporarily difficult for retail competitors as customers may shop the going-out-of-business sales instead of buying merchandise from rival stores. In this case liquidation sales may come during the crucial holiday shopping period. In the long term Delia's competitors could benefit from the reduced competition providing the bankruptcy is not a sign of overall weakness in the teen retail sector. The Wall Street Journal reports that another women's clothing retailer, Deb Shops, is also likely headed for liquidation.
Note: Dolls Kill revived the Delia's style through its Dolls Kill collection, which debuted in 2018. You can find it on the Dolls Kill site.