Fortunoff files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy Protection

Ailing jewelry retailer Fortunoff filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday. The company said it has been suffering from “severe liquidity crisis” since January following weak holiday season sales.

Owner NRDC Equity Partners plans to sale the business as a going concern or liquidate sell off its merchandise and close all stores.

Fortunoff listed assets and liabilities within a range of $100 million to $500 million in the court filing. It reported net operating losses of $42 million and $260 million in revenue for the nine months ending November 30.

Its largest listed unsecured creditor is Hanamint Corp., which is owed $1.56 million.

Fortunoff has filed for bankruptcy a year ago as it was about to be purchased by NRDC for $100 million.

The possibility of selling or liquidating the company started to surface in the past few weeks as NRDC reportedly began talking with possible buyers.