Department Stores
Department stores and multi-category retail chains
PE-Owned Brands
Barneys New York
Hedge fund Perry Capital took majority control of Barneys New York in May 2012 by converting debt to equity. Barneys filed Chapter 11 in August 2019 and closed its remaining US stores by February 2020.
Mervyn's
Owned by Sun Capital Partners
PE consortium split company into real estate and retail, forced retailer to pay rent on properties it previously owned. Extracted $200M in fees. All 257 stores liquidated.
Sears Hometown Stores
Owned by ESL Investments
Small-format Sears spinoff, majority-controlled by Eddie Lampert's ESL Investments, which fully acquired it via Transform Holdco in 2019. Filed Chapter 11 in December 2022 and liquidated all remaining stores by early 2023.
Shopko
Owned by Sun Capital Partners
Sun Capital stripped real estate, loaded debt, extracted $50M dividend. All 360 stores liquidated. 14,000 jobs lost.