The Commercial Law League presented a lively panel on Hot Topics in Retail Bankruptcies featuring Robert Duffy from Berkshire Research Group, LLC, Kenneth Eckstein from Kramer Levin, Mohsin Meghji from M-III Partners, LP, James Sprayregen from Kirkland & Ellis and Marty Staff from BCBG Maxaria.
I will acknowledge up front that I have no idea who made which comments so that all content should be attributed to the panel in general.
An Overview of Retail Bankruptcies
The panel reported trouble across all sectors. Brands used to be the black box of customer preference, but now it’s about price. The e-commerce effect is impacting players across the retail space. Small and mid-market retailers feel the need to develop an e-commerce presence but are not making any money on it. Meanwhile, the cost of cost of keeping a bricks and mortar presence has become a burden.
