Tailored Brands extends store closures, furloughs all U.S. employees amid Covid-19 outbreak

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Mar 27, 2020

Tailored Brands, Inc., parent company of Men's Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank, Moores Clothing for Men and K&G, is extending the temporary closure of its retail stores and furloughing all U.S. store employees, as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to impact the retail world. 

The company's stores will remain closed until at least May 4, 2020. In addition to the U.S. store employees, the company said it will also furlough "a significant portion of employees in its distribution network and offices." 

The company said it will also implement tiered pay cuts for the CEO, executive vice presidents and senior vice presidents, for those who will be working full time during the period.

“Our top priority will always be the wellbeing of our employees, customers and communities, and we will continue to take whatever actions we deem necessary to serve this priority,” said Tailored Brands President and CEO, Dinesh Lathi.

“It was a very difficult decision to furlough employees and one that we did not take lightly; however, this is an important step to ensure the durability of our company and the livelihood it provides for so many. We are working to support our furloughed employees through our continued benefit programs, information about jobs that may be open in their areas and information on government resources. We will continue to monitor the situation carefully and look forward to bringing our employees back to work as soon as possible.”

Lathi and the company's board of directors will be taking a 50% pay reduction during the period.

Tailored Brand's e-commerce fulfillment operations are currently suspended until the company can find a way to restart them in a way that is cash flow positive. However, customers can still place orders online that will be shipped when the fulfillment centers reopen.

The disruption caused by the Covid-19 outbreak comes at an especially inopportune time for the struggling Tailored Brands. Last week, the Fremont, California-based company announced a loss of $34.1 million, or $0.80 per diluted share, for the fourth quarter, as sales fell across the company’s portfolio and charges related to the sale of the Joseph Abboud brand took their toll.  

For the fourth quarter ended February 1, 2020, Tailored Brands’ sales totaled $691 million, down 5.3% from $730 million in the same period year-prior.

The company said it will continue to monitor the virus situation and reopen its facilities upon guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and government officials.