Another major chain of stores has succumbed to the financial crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic: the department store Century 21 announced this Thursday that it is declaring bankruptcy and that it will close all its stores.
Founded in 1961, Century 21 stores, very popular in the New York area and which became a regular stop for tourists and shoppers looking for discounts on fashion and cosmetic items, thus added to the list of great companies that were hit by the pandemic, including the JC Penney department store, the J.Crew clothing brand and the Hertz car rental company.
The refusal of insurers to pay some 175 million dollars that, in his opinion, corresponded to him in terms of protection for business interruption during the pandemic, has led him to declare bankruptcy, according to Century 21.
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"While insurance money helped us rebuild after suffering the devastating impact of September 11, we now have no viable alternative but to start closing our beloved family business because our insurers ... have turned their backs on us. the most critical moment, "CEO Raymond Gindi said in a statement.
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He added that a lawsuit currently pending in New York against several of his insurance providers for failing to compensate the company for their losses will be filed in bankruptcy court.
With the filing of bankruptcy and after a period of markdowns to sell all its inventory in its stores and online, Century 21 will close all its stores in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Florida.
With information from CNBC
and EFE