Casual Male says files for Chapter 11 CANTON, Mass., May 18 (Reuters) - Apparel retailer Casual Male Corp. (NasdaqNM:CMAL - news) said on Friday it and certain of its subsidiaries filed voluntary bankruptcy petitions to protect the company as it restructures debt and operations under Chapter 11.

Trading in shares of Casual Male were halted on the Nasdaq market earlier on Friday and last traded at 69 cents.

Casual Male said it needed to restructure long-term debt and eventually concluded that reorganization was the only viable alternative. The company had total assets of about $299 million and total liabilities of $244 million as of Feb. 3.

The company said it has signed a $135 million post-petition credit facility, pending court approval, to fund ongoing operations. It plans to continue paying employees and vendors and intends to honor current gift programs and employee benefits, Casual Male said.

The company filed the reorganization in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Casual Male operates more than 590 stores, four catalog titles and two Web sites, selling apparel and accessories for big and tall men under the Casual Male Big & Tall, Repp Ltd., Big & Tall and B&T Factory trade names.

Personal Note: I've never heard of them but 590 stores, wow, I wonder if that was a typo? Maybe it was only 59

-- Guy Daley (guydaley1@netzero.net), May 18, 2001

Answers

No typo. I punningly and casually typed www.casualmale.com into my web browser and found their site:

"ABOUT US

Beginning with a single store in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts in 1973, Casual Male Big & Tall has become the nation's premier provider of clothing for big and tall men. Casual Male is rapidly becoming the preferred retailer of the male population that wears sizes 1X to 6X and waist sizes from 36 to 66". With a thorough understanding of the unique needs of large men, Casual Male Big & Tall has developed a line of quality clothing that combines contemporary style with guaranteed comfort.

Casual Male Big & Tall now boasts over 400 stores nationwide, a new apparel catalog for 2000, and a fully functional e-commerce Web site. Thanks to high-tech methods of merchandising, the man who previously had difficulty finding the right sizes, can easily buy perfectly proportioned garments that accommodate his size and stature from the comfort of his own home.

Along with an extensive selection of active wear and sports styles, Casual Male Big & Tall offers blazers and sports jackets for business and social events, outerwear, and an accessory line to help big men dress for any occasion. Casual Male also carries shoes, boots, and athletic footwear in hard to find sizes.

Casual Male Big & Tall has developed a competitive buying strategy that allows us to offer customers the highest quality at special prices. With plans for more stores on the drawing board and new ideas in development, Casual Male Big & Tall leads the way in the new century with vital awareness of an important category of male customer.

Casual Male Big & Tall is a wholly owned subsidiary of Casual Male Corp. which also owns and operates Repp Ltd.Big & Tall stores and catalog and the Big & Tall Factory Stores. "

[end website snip]

Although I hadn't heard of "Casual Male" I have heard of "Big and Tall". I would imagine their business was booming in recent years as American waistlines surged, but (I am guessing) they gorged themselves on easy credit...no mention of Chapter 11 in their About Us description, however.

-- Andre Weltman (aweltman@state.pa.us), May 21, 2001.