J.Jill in new bid to avoid bankruptcy

J.Jill has once again kept a bankruptcy filing at bay.

The struggling women’s apparel retailer, which operates 280 stores, said Thursday it has reached an agreement with lenders to extend a forbearance period to July 23 to give the company more time to complete negotiations.

"We remain engaged in productive discussions with our lenders, and today, our lenders extended the forbearance period under the existing forbearance agreements, which provides additional time for us to complete negotiations," stated interim CEO Jim Scully. “We are making progress with the negotiations and expect a resolution soon.”

As previously announced, J. Jill entered the 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 to remain a “going concern.”     

The uncertainty created by recent events generate scenarios that raise substantial doubt about our ability to continue as a going concern within one year after the date the financial statements are issued," the company stated. 

J. Jill was struggling going into the pandemic. Same-store sales fell 3.6% in 2019 amid a $128.6 million net loss for 2019, compared to a $30.5 million profit the year before.