A bankruptcy judge allowed J.Crew Group Inc. to pause paying rent for two months despite pleas from many large landlords to resume payments as its stores start to reopen, the Wall Street Journal reported. At a hearing on Tuesday, Judge Keith Phillips of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va., said only seven of J.Crew’s roughly 500 stores have reopened, while most of the company’s employees remain furloughed and vendors are going unpaid. Moreover, J.Crew has already filed a restructuring plan that provides for payment of back rent incurred bankruptcy when the company emerges from chapter 11, Judge Phillips said. J.Crew filed for chapter 11 protection in early May. It had been struggling for years and the coronavirus pandemic was the final straw, prompting it to close stores and scrap plans to raise cash by spinning off its Madewell chain. In mid-May, the retailer reopened seven stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas, according to court papers. J.Crew expects to gradually reopen 476 of its roughly 500 stores by late June.
