Company Behind Jessica Simpson's Clothing Line Filed For Bankruptcy, Has Over $435 Million In Debt
The company behind Jessica Simpson’s clothing line has filed for bankruptcy.
Sequential Brands Group, Inc., which claimed it has $435 million in debt, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Tuesday, August 31.
The company filed in a Wilmington, Delaware, federal court where it is registered, although it is headquartered in New York City.
Sequential is also responsible for brands other than Simpson’s clothing line, including AND1 basketball clothing, Gaiam and Avia fitness apparel, SPRI and Joe’s Jeans.
The company also formerly owned Martha Stewart’s brand as well as Emeril Lagasse’s cookware brand before selling them in 2019.
As a result of the bankruptcy process, Sequential, a publicly-traded company, also announced that it had been removed from stock trading.
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“The Company determined that, as a result of the significant debt on its corporate balance sheet, it was no longer able to operate its portfolio of brands,” the company said in the announcement, per Knewz.
Sequential also claimed that it secured $150 million in financing, which it will use to cover operational costs while it attempts to sell the seven brands which it currently owns.
Simpson, 41, was reportedly trying to acquire her company back before the bankruptcy filing, but failed to raise enough money. According to The New York Post, Sequential had a 62.5 percent stake in Jessica Simpson in 2015, which was worth $117 million.
Other brands had more luck, including Caribbean Joe and Ellen Tracy, which sold for $20 million earlier in August, and Heelys, which sold for $11 million back in April.
Sequential has also been accused of violating accounting practices in 2016 and 2017.
According to the company's website, Sequential hires experts "who span multiple consumer sectors, act as a catalyst to increase value through brand design, innovation, and extension through our licensing model. A well-defined, strategic philosophy and mission statement promotes, supports, and protects Sequential Brands Group most valuable asset – our owned brands."
The webiste also ironically claims that it is "without the typical risks associated with traditional operating companies," as a "financial upside" of the company.
