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Revlon Inc. is set to begin a formal marketing process after Labor Day as it seeks to secure a buyer that will help turn around the company without taking it private, Bloomberg News reported. The cosmetics giant is exploring a sale of the entire company or its major brands. It isn’t interested in selling its smaller brands piecemeal, according to sources. Revlon will start reaching out after the Labor Day holiday weekend in the U.S. to parties that have expressed interest. No final decisions have been made and a deal may not be reached. Revlon’s majority owner, MacAndrews & Forbes Inc., isn’t considering taking the company private. Formal talks with potential buyers and counterparties will proceed with the help of Revlon’s financial adviser Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

As Charming Charlie Holdings Inc. closes its remaining stores, the retailer believes there is still a market for its trademarks, customer lists and other intellectual property, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The women’s accessories and clothing company, which last month filed for bankruptcy for the second time in less than two years, is seeking permission in bankruptcy court to hire Hilco IP Services LLP to sell assets that also include domain names and social media accounts. Bankruptcy Judge Christopher Sontchi has scheduled a hearing on the request next month in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Charming Charlie entered its most recent bankruptcy with $82 million in debt. It said that it planned to close its remaining 261 stores by the end of August. The company projected last month that its stores’ going-out-of-business sales would generate revenue of roughly $30 million. Charming Charlie had stopped online sales by the time it filed for bankruptcy, though it maintains a website. Hilco IP, which does business under the name Hilco Streambank, said that the trademarks for sale are Charming Charlie, Belle & Bumble and Charlie Girl, as well as their related domain names. Customer data comprises 6.8 million email addresses and 3 million snail-mail addresses.

High-profile bankruptcies and store closures have gutted some of the nation’s biggest retailers — and that’s during good economic times. Now, amid fears that the U.S. is headed toward recession, analysts say that another reckoning might be in store as a slowing global economy, volatile stock market and new tariffs are likely to take their toll on American consumers in coming months, according to a commentary in the Washington Post. There is little middle ground left in the retail industry: Companies are either doing brisk business or struggling to hang on, analysts say — a trend that is likely to become even more pronounced if the economy sours. “If there’s another recession — and I think there will be soon — everyone gets knocked down,” said Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia Business School and the former chief executive of Sears Canada. “The strong get back on their feet. The weak don’t recover.”

Barneys New York Inc., the upscale clothing retailer that filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, says it has a “clear, crystallized vision” for what it will look like post-restructuring. The challenge, an executive says, is pulling it off, Bloomberg News reported. “We have a very tight timeline to come out of this chapter,” said Katherine Bahamonde Monasebian, chief digital and technology officer at the department store. “Our intention that we’re setting is to come out of this with a very strong digitally focused partner and emerge on the other side and really be able to —  with a healthier balance sheet and operating structure —  implement the vision of the company.” That vision includes a more intentional push into food, entertainment and experiences, Monasebian said. It also means “becoming more operationally efficient, service oriented and shifting from a product culture to a people culture, which involves a retooling from the top of the organization to the bottom. For those that are part of large legacy corporations, it’s easier said” than done, she said.

The largest operator of Pizza Hut restaurants in the world saw its debt plunge further into distress after second-quarter results showed the franchisee inching closer to breaching the terms of its bank credit lines, Bloomberg News reported. Closely held NPC International Inc. reported in a private release to lenders earlier this month that its total debt rose to 6.9 times a measure of earnings, just below the threshold that would trigger a default under the company’s revolver. The ratio stood at around 6.3 times in the first quarter. NPC’s owners, including Todd Boehly’s Eldridge Industries LLC, have injected $17.5 million of cash into the business this year to help keep it in compliance with covenants. NPC has struggled with rising labor and food costs at a time when it’s seeking to invest in storefronts focused on delivery and move away from traditional dine-in restaurants. The sell-off in the company’s debt has accelerated since the Aug. 9 disclosure, with its first and second-lien loans now being quoted at about 70 and 50 cents on the dollar, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Americans are more value-conscious than they have been in decades. And retailers offering good deals, from bargains on brand-name goods to conveniences such as free shipping, are gaining share at the expense of peers that have been slow to innovate, the Wall Street Journal reported. Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and T.J. Maxx parent TJX Cos. reported strong sales growth and an uptick in visitors to their stores. But Macy’s Inc., J.C. Penney Co. and Nordstrom Inc. are among retailers that continue to struggle. “The common thread among retailers that are doing well is that they offer some type of value,” said Chuck Grom, senior analyst at Gordon Haskett Retail Advisors. “But, today, value is about more than just price. It’s also about convenience.” Convenience can take many forms. It can mean pulling into a Walmart or T.J. Maxx parking lot and dashing into the store rather than navigating through a shopping mall maze. It can also mean free, two-day shipping, no minimum required, as Target offered last holiday season.

Revlon Inc. has hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to help review strategic alternatives, including the sale of all or parts of its business, as the cosmetics maker copes with changing consumer tastes, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The New York-based company, which is controlled by billionaire Ron Perelman ’s investment firm, is considering all its options, including a sale of all or some parts of its business. Like a number of mainstream cosmetics companies, Revlon has struggled to keep its grip on American shoppers. The company has faced multiple challenges, including competition from startups by celebrity founders such as Kylie Jenner, as well as loss of market share to larger competitors such as L’Oréal SA and the failure to reap benefits from its acquisition of Elizabeth Arden Inc. a few years ago. MacAndrews & Forbes Inc., the investment vehicle controlled by Perelman, has stepped in twice in recent years to loan the cosmetics maker millions of dollars. Last week, Revlon reported quarterly results that fell short of expectations, but it also said it received a $200 million term loan that it would use to invest in its business. One analyst said that capital infusion arrived “just in time” as Revlon had been cutting back on capital expenditures and display purchases.

Revlon Inc. received a $200 million term loan that the struggling cosmetics maker will use to invest in its business, a capital infusion that one analyst said arrived “just in time,” WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The four-year senior secured loan extended last week by Ares Management LLC, a credit, private-equity and real-estate investment firm, will be used for general corporate purposes and for business improvement efforts, including innovation programs, Revlon said. The collateral for the loan includes certain intellectual property of Revlon’s American Crew business, a Securities and Exchange Commission filing said. Justin Forlenza, an analyst for credit research firm Covenant Review, said in a report on Tuesday that the new loan benefits from a collateral pledge of a new “BrandCo” entity that will hold the intellectual property for the men’s grooming line. “Because the BrandCo assets are held by entities that do not guarantee or pledge assets to secure the existing loans, the 2019 term loan lenders will likely have priority vis a vis those assets,” Forlenza wrote. Bids on an existing Revlon loan are down about a nickel, to 75 cents on the dollar, since the new loan was announced, according to data provider IHS Markit.

Avenue Stores LLC, owned by private-equity firm Versa Capital Management, has decided to shutter all 222 of its retail locations, Hilco Merchant Resources said in a statement announcing the closures, Bloomberg News reported. The company, which operates in 33 states, has hired Hilco and Gordon Brothers to oversee inventory sales. The specialty plus-sized apparel industry has been under pressure as online rivals like Amazon.com Inc. and big-box retailers from Walmart Inc. to Target Corp. increasingly compete in the space. Plus-sized women’s retailer Fullbeauty Brands Inc. filed for chapter 11 earlier this year before winning court approval for its plan to restructure the company in less than 24 hours.