Aldo Files For Creditor Protection Amid 'Pressure' From COVID-19 Shutdowns

MONTREAL ― Aldo Group Inc. says it is filing for creditor protection, stating that it plans to restructure the business as it reels from the hit brought on by COVID-19.

The Montreal-based footwear retailer says e-commerce at its three main brands ― Aldo, Call It Spring and Globo ― will continue and it plans to reopen some storefronts when able to under local guidelines for each location.

Watch: Neiman Marcus, J. Crew among the retailers to declare insolvency amid COVID-19 pandemic. Story continues below.

Aldo says it has obtained an initial order under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act from the Superior Court of Quebec.

It has also applied for creditor protection in Canada and the U.S., with plans to do the same in Switzerland.

All 6,680 store associates and more than half of the employees at its headquarters have been furloughed, according to a BNN Bloomberg report

CEO David Bensadoun, whose father Aldo founded the chain in 1972, says “the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic has put too much pressure” on business and cash flows.

The retail fashion industry, already undergoing a sweeping shift amid the migration to online shopping, has been hit hard by a pandemic that has shuttered storefronts across the globe and sent apparel revenues plummeting.

― With a file from Reuters