Bachrach to close doors after 140 years

By

Robin Driver

Published
Mar 2, 2018

Following more than a century in business, historic LA-based menswear retailer Bachrach is closing its last remaining locations, announcing liquidation sales in the stores, which are spread across eight states.

Store-closing sales with discounts of up to 50% will be held at the retailer’s 14 stores in Texas, Virginia, New Jersey, Tennessee, Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana and Illinois, as well as on Bachrach’s e-commerce website. The liquidation process is being led by Great American Group and Tiger Group on behalf of the company’s creditors.
 
Apparel inventory being sold includes suits, shirts and sweaters, dress and casual pants, denim and jeans, as well as coats, blazers and vests. Accessories on offer include ties, label pins, cufflinks and pocket squares. Most of the items on sale are from Bachrach’s own brand.

Bachrach, which was founded in 1877, had managed to come back from bankruptcy following a previous series of store closures, but was forced to file for Chapter 11 again last month.
 
Scott Carpenter, president of GA Retail Solutions, commented in a release that “Margins in the menswear sector have been shrinking due to declining foot traffic at malls, stiff competition from e-commerce retailers and significant shifts in consumer spending patterns,” going on to explain, “Unfortunately, Bachrach's store locations were unable to survive these competitive pressures, despite its strengths”.
 
At one point, Bachrach operated 32 locations, primarily in the Midwest, having made a name for itself for both quality and customer service. As Carpenter pointed out, “Its loyal clientele associates the name not only with menswear of exceptional quality and style, but also with highly-trained salespeople who are adept at helping them look their best”.
 
Bachrach, along with many other traditional retailers across the industry, has fallen victim to an ever more unforgiving retail environment, increasingly dominated by large online competitors such as Amazon.
 
Menswear is, however, a growing sector, with US revenues expected to rise 5% in the next two years. A number of retailers have been announcing plans to capitalize on this shift: Nordstrom, for example, is opening a menswear flagship in New York City this April, while made-to-measure tailor Indochino recently received a strategic investment from Mitsui USA to drive its expansion in North America.
 
Bachrach’s liquidation sales are expected to continue for the next four to six weeks.