Neiman Marcus to reportedly become 1st major U.S. department store to file for bankruptcy in pandemic

Once a staple in the retail sector, Neiman Marcus Group is preparing to seek bankruptcy protection as soon as this week, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. It would become the first major U.S. department store operator to do so during the economic fallout of the novel COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic.

The Dallas-based company has been forced to temporarily shutter all 43 of its Neiman Marcus locations, two dozen Last Call stores, and its two Bergdorf Goodman stores in New York. Many of its 14,000 employees have been furloughed, and the company reportedly skipped millions of dollars in debt payments last week, though it's currently negotiating a loan with its creditors that would keep some of its operations afloat during the bankruptcy proceedings.

Analysts for credit ratings firm Standard & Poor found Neiman Marcus' chances of mounting a turnaround are "increasingly low," describing its capital structure as "unsustainable."

Once the company files for bankruptcy, sources told Reuters, potential suitors could look to buy it or some of its assets on the cheap. Read more at Reuters.