Three years after buying it out of bankruptcy, Versa Capital Management is seeking a new owner for the Avenue Stores LLC plus-size clothing chain, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The investment bank Houlihan Lokey is running the sale process. Versa, a buyout firm in Philadelphia, turned around the once-struggling Avenue chain and is looking to capitalize on growing demand for plus-size clothing. Sales of the apparel totaled about $18 billion during the 12-month period ending in June, according to NPD Group. The market’s potential has attracted retailers like Target Corp., which rolled out a larger-size clothing line, Ava & Viv, this year.
