Parents seeking affordable shoes for their kids have a limited time to get them at 50 percent off at The Children’s Place.
The children’s retailer is liquidating all stock, and the shoes are final sale. Boots at $49.95 are now $24.98, while toddler girls glitter-bow ballet flats can be had at $14.98 from $29.95. Some options are online only, but most are available at the banner’s retail stores. The inventory liquidation sales are conducted through a joint venture comprised of GA Group, Tiger Group and SB360 Capital.
The liquidation is due to the retailer’s Chapter 11 filing Sunday night in a bankruptcy court in New Jersey. The retail chain, which also owns the twice-bankrupt Gymboree nameplate that was acquired in March 2019, is selling its assets to a buyer that would allow it to continue to operate as a going concern. Bids from interested buyers are due Dec. 9, with a bankruptcy-court-supervised sale process expected to be completed by the end of December 2026.
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“Today’s announcement marks an important step in our efforts to secure the best path forward for The Children’s Place,” said Rudy Morando, co-chief restructuring officer of The Children’s Place. “For nearly 60 years, The Children’s Place has supported growing families with apparel that customers have come to know and love. We recognize the significance of this development for our employees, customers, vendors, and other partners, and we are committed to conducting an efficient and transparent sale process.”
The company said that as the sale process continues under bankruptcy court supervision, its stores and e-commerce sites remain open.
The petition listed estimated assets at $742.3 million and total liabilities at $881.3 million. Thirteen affiliates also filed. The company said it will also file a Canadian proceeding to recognize that the assets of the three Canadian affiliates are part of a foreign main proceeding so that they can be part of the U.S. sale process. The top five creditors — at number one is Hansae Co. Ltd. in Seoul, owed $15.3 million — are overseas firms located either in Korea, Hong Kong or Vietnam. And for the list of Top 30 unsecured creditors, it doesn’t appear that any of the trade claims are held by shoe firms or manufacturers.
“The company has experienced declining sales and profitability, competitive and promotion pressures, increased costs, and significant liquidity constraints,” Lorie Beers, managing director and head of restructuring and special situations at Cascadia Capital LLC, in a court document. She said thus far that the retailer has received nine interested proposals, six for going concern and three for liquidation of assets. The hope is that an offer or some combination of offers would generate a greater value than a liquidation.
The Children’s Place was founded in 1969. But more recently, it has had its share of troubles. It began laying off 17 percent of its staff in June 2023 as consumer spending slowed, and liquidity issues led to a strategic review in February 2024. By March 2024, Mithaq Capital provided $78.6 million in an interest-free, unsecured and subordinated term loan that enabled the distressed retailer to continue operations. The Chapter 11 petition indicates that Mithaq Capital owns 61.1 percent of the equity in The Children’s Place.
The retailer operates nearly 500 stores, which will go dark if it can’t find a buyer.
