Syms and Filene's Basement will be jointly administered during the bankruptcy. The liquidation of stores is expected to run through approximately January 2012. The schedule for store closings is to be determined as the liquidation of merchandise is completed.
Chief Executive Marcy Syms said, in a prepared statement, "This has been a challenging time for Syms and Filene's Basement. We have been faced with increased competition from large department stores that now offer the same brands as our stores at similar discounts."
Syms Corp was founded by Sy Syms in 1959. Filene's Basement traces its roots back to 1909 and founder William Filene. Syms acquired assets of Filene’s Basement, Inc., which had filed for bankruptcy, in a bankruptcy auction in 2009. Syms Corp and Filene's Basement, LLC collectively own and operate 46 "off-price" apparel stores located predominantly on the east coast of the United States under the "Syms" name (which, together with co-branded Syms/Filene's Basement stores, are owned and operated by Syms Corp) and the "Filene's Basement" name (which are owned and operated by Filene’s Basement, LLC).
With the end of Filene's Basement goes its "Running of the Brides" events (pictured above). Brides-to-be from acrosss the Midwest traveled to Chicago to find bargain wedding gowns. The dresses, often discontinued lines from major wedding gown manufacturers, appealed to both bargain hunters and simply adventurous brides and their friends and family, who often came as a team. While there are plenty of bridal boutiques in Chicago, there was only one Filene's Basement. Photo credit: Dimonika Studio/Flickr
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