J.Jill gets another extension

J.Jill has received two more weeks of breathing room.

The women’s apparel retailer reached an agreement with lenders to extend a forbearance period slated to end August 13 until Aug. 27. J.Jill entered into two forbearance agreements in mid-June after falling out of compliance with certain covenants on its asset-based lending and term loan credit facilities amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In a 10-K filing at the time, the company said it had doubts about its ability to remain a “going concern.” To date, it has received several extensions of the agreements.

The retailer, which was struggling going into the pandemic, is exploring various financial options. J.Jill, which has more than 280 stores, posted a first-quarter net loss of $70.3 million, compared to income of $4.4 million in the year-ago period. As previously announced, it plans to permanently close 11 stores in fiscal 2020, with most expected to go dark in the second quarter.