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Specialty gift retailer Things Remembered Inc. has filed for bankruptcy and intends to close most of its stores but has a deal in place to sell some of its remaining outlets to gift distributor Enesco LLC for $17.5 million, subject to higher bids, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Things Remembered filed for chapter 11 protection yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Like other mall-based retailers that have filed for bankruptcy recently, Things Remembered has seen a decline in store sales as consumers shift to buying gifts online. Enesco’s bid means Things Remembered will likely continue outside of bankruptcy as a going concern, albeit with a significantly smaller footprint. As of January, Things Remembered had about 400 stores, court papers say. Enesco’s offer is for the retailer’s direct-sales business and at least 50 retail locations, with the option to add additional stores, according to court documents.

The chief restructuring officer in charge of the Sears bankruptcy said Wednesday that the company's proposed sale to its controversial chairman and ex-CEO would be a better deal for creditors, workers and vendors than liquidation, USA Today reported. Mohsin Meghji, who was appointed as the Sears restructuring chief when Chairman Eddie Lampert resigned as CEO in October, defended the retailer's plan to sell itself in shrunken form to Lampert's ESL Investments. Meghji testified in bankruptcy court on the second day of a hearing to decide the retailer's fate that he had analyzed the difference between a deal to sell Sears to ESL and an alternative move to liquidate the company. A committee of unsecured creditors that is seeking the liquidation of Sears disagreed with Meghji's conclusion, questioning ESL's intentions and the structuring of the deal, saying it appeared to primarily benefit Lampert.

A pricey contest over Nine West Inc. continues in a Manhattan bankruptcy court Tuesday, as the apparel maker attempts to persuade a judge to shield its private-equity owner, Sycamore Partners LP, from lawsuits, the WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Professional fee bills in the bankruptcy could top $140 million, due to months of strife, lawyers said on Monday during opening arguments over Nine West’s chapter 11 exit plan. The trial continued yesterday before Judge Shelley Chapman, who is being asked to approve the plan, and the settlement with Sycamore, over the protests of bondholders who are owed $700 million. Sycamore has denied allegations it drained the apparel maker of value, but has, along with minority owner KKR Credit Advisors (US) LLC, agreed to pay $115 million to quiet the claims. Nine West says the settlement offer from Sycamore is a good one, and notes that senior creditors as well as the official committee of unsecured creditors have agreed to the deal. Bondholders, however, are balking at the settlement and opposing confirmation of Nine West’s bankruptcy exit plan. They contend that the Sycamore settlement is priced too low and Nine West is spending heavily in a court fight to protect its owner.

Fast-fashion retailer Charlotte Russe Holdings Corp. filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy on Sunday and plans to close about 20 percent of its stores but said it could liquidate the business entirely if it is unable to sell the business as a going concern, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The mall-based retailer, which operates the Charlotte Russe and Peek Kids chains, said its stores and websites will remain open but it will use the bankruptcy proceedings to immediately begin winding down 94 of its more than 500 locations. Charlotte Russe’s advisers are proposing two paths in chapter 11 as the future of the retailer hangs in the balance. The company is hoping a buyer will come forward to purchase at least a “material portion” of its business out of bankruptcy but could begin liquidating if it can’t come up with a deal in the next couple of weeks, according to court papers filed in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del.

Fullbeauty Brands Inc., the women’s plus-size retailer, is on path to set a record for fastest U.S. bankruptcy after taking less than 24 hours to win court approval for its plan to restructure the company, Bloomberg News reported. The company had support from all its stakeholders when it filed for chapter 11 status on Sunday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in White Plains, New York. Fullbeauty, which had more than $1 billion of borrowings, is cutting around $900 million of debt through the bankruptcy process, allowing it to cut the cash it has to funnel toward interest payments while it turns itself around. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain said that there were good reasons to approve the company’s plan promptly, including that every creditor had voted for the plan, and that the company has foreign suppliers that may not be comfortable selling to a company in bankruptcy. He gave verbal approval for the plan and said he would sign an order officially confirming it today. The previous record for the fastest chapter 11 process is held by Blue Bird Body Co., which exited bankruptcy in 2006 in less than two days.

The once-mighty Sears department store chain took its fight for survival to a bankruptcy judge yesterday, arguing that the proposed $5.2 billion sale to its chairman, Eddie Lampert, would help save 45,000 jobs and keep 425 stores open, Reuters reported. Bankruptcy Judge <b>Robert Drain</b> said yesterday that he would rule on the sale to Lampert’s ESL Investments Inc. later this week after hearings that were likely to run into Thursday. A lawyer for Sears Holdings Corp. told the court he was hoping the deal would close on Friday, clearing the way for Sears to end its four-month stint in chapter 11 bankruptcy and begin its new life as a private company controlled by Lampert.

A U.S. agency that insures worker pensions sought permission on Friday to take over two underfunded Sears Holdings Corp. pension plans, after objecting to Sears Chairman Eddie Lampert’s proposed $5.2 billion buyout of the bankrupt retailer, Reuters reported. In a complaint filed in Chicago federal court, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp asked to be named trustee of the pension plans, which it said are underfunded by $1.4 billion and cover about 90,000 Sears and Kmart employees and retirees. The PBGC also asked that the plans be terminated as of Jan. 31, 2019. Friday’s request came six days after the PBGC objected to the takeover of Sears by Lampert’s hedge fund ESL Investments, which had won an auction for the Hoffman Estates, Illinois-based retailer last month. In a filing with the White Plains, New York court overseeing Sears’ chapter 11 case, the PBGC said Lampert’s proposal would strip its rights in trademarks and licensing royalties from the DieHard and Kenmore brands.

David’s Bridal succeeded in using bankruptcy to slash burdensome debt it had acquired through a private-equity buyout years ago. The chain emerged from bankruptcy with more sustainable finances on Jan. 18, USA Today reported. But the company’s challenges aren’t over. With digital threats emerging, marriage rates declining and wedding alternatives proliferating, David’s Bridal is adjusting its business to stay competitive. The company has lowered prices on many of its bridesmaids' dresses, added more plus-size options and guaranteed free one-on-one consulting for brides-to-be. "I believe we have a significant opportunity to improve the customer experience in our stores and have been working to do so, with early steps being the introduction of a one-to-one service model," David’s Bridal CEO Scott Key said.