Wilsons Sells Outlet Stores for $22M

Minneapolis Wilsons The Leather Experts Inc. on Tuesday said it sold its outlet stores and online retail assets to a subsidiary of sportswear and outerwear maker G-III Apparel Group Ltd. for about $22.3 million in cash, according to the Associated Press.

AM Apparel Group Inc., a unit of G-III, bought 116 outlet store locations, $18.5 million in inventory, distribution center operations, the Wilsons name and other related trademarks and trade names.

In a statement, G-III CEO Morris Goldfarb said the deal will allow the company to have a "significant" vertical retail operation.

Wilsons said the sale is part of its plan to obtain capital and use it to launch a new mall-accessories store concept.

Wilsons Leather will change its name to PreVu Inc.

Wilsons The Leather Experts has faced declining sales for years amid a weak retail environment. In March it said its fiscal 2007 net loss widened to $96.8 million.

In February the company said it would close the majority of its 260 mall locations and cut more than 1,000 jobs in an effort to improve performance.