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Comfort shoe maker Rockport Co., citing “today’s evolving retail landscape” and a costly separation from former owner Adidas AG, has filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy with a plan to hand ownership to private-equity firm Charlesbank, the Wall Street Journal reported. Rockport was founded in 1971 and supplies its shoes to department stores and specialty retailers, as well as online and at some of its own stores, in more than 60 countries, according to court filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. The Newton, Mass.-based company, which filed for protection from creditors in the U.S. and Canada, said that it may seek to close some of its own locations while under court protection. In court papers, interim Chief Financial Officer Paul Kosturos blamed Rockport’s bankruptcy on a “costly and time consuming separation” from former owner Adidas Networks, along with supply-chain interruptions and a contract dispute with expeditors.

Next month, Toys ‘R’ Us is putting its famous mascot, Geoffrey the Giraffe, on the auction block along with website domains such as 'sex-toys-r-us.com,' Reuters reported.The adult-oriented domain name is one of hundreds of website addresses that the bankrupt toy-store chain is looking to find a buyer for as it winds down its business and shutters 735 U.S. stores, according to court records. Also up for sale: ihatetoysrus.com, toysrussucks.com, kinkytoysrus.com and adult-toys-r-us.com. Companies like Toys ‘R’ Us often register related domain names to guard against someone hijacking their brand for their own business, said Bob Phibbs, a brand specialist and chief executive of the Retail Doctor consulting firm. The company is selling its intellectual property, which includes its name, Geoffrey the Giraffe logo, and the Babies ‘R’ Us brand, to raise money to repay its creditors. Brand specialists said it could be one of the most valuable brands ever sold by a company going out of business.

Last spring, Toys “R” Us, struggling in the face of competition, wanted to refinance about $200 million in debt. A year and a bankruptcy filing later, Toys “R” Us is expected to pay as much as $348 million for the dozens of bankers, lawyers and consultants that tried to fix its problems, the New York Times reported. Toys “R” Us’ swift downfall has been particularly painful for the company’s more than 30,000 employees, who are losing their jobs as the company shuts its doors across the United States in the next few weeks. The store workers say that they will not receive severance, even though many say they were originally promised modest payouts. In the final days, Toys “R” Us is paying many employees for full-time work, but not requiring them to come into the office if they aren’t needed.

The second-biggest operator of Applebee’s restaurants said it filed for bankruptcy this week partly to protect its franchise rights in two states, but while it is under chapter 11 protection it also plans to negotiate new leases and contracts, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Atlanta-based RMH Franchise Holdings Inc., owner of 159 Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar restaurants in 15 states, sought chapter 11 protection on Tuesday. The franchisee’s restaurants represent slightly less than 10 percent of all Applebee’s locations. “Significant challenges encountered by the Applebee’s brand generally, and specific managerial decisions made on behalf of it by its franchisor, Applebee’s International Inc.,” have hurt the franchisee’s operations and left it “facing near-term liquidity issues,” RMH Chief Financial Officer Mitchell Blocher said in a filing Wednesday in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Del. Over the past year, the franchisee has been negotiating new lease terms, closing poor-performing locations, and trying to reduce corporate and back-office costs, he said.

A group of Toys ‘R’ Us workers wants proceeds from the retailer's liquidation -- as well as the accumulated income that the chain’s private-equity owners have reaped over the years -- to make a severance payment to those laid off, Bloomberg News reported. A petition calls for Bain Capital, KKR & Co. and Vornado Realty Trust to hand over to employees the $470 million that the firms had received in interest and fees from Toys ‘R’ Us. The retailer’s 30,000 employees would get more than $15,000 each under that plan, which has 50,000 signatures. The workers are also lobbying members of Congress to ask for a tax on private-equity and hedge-fund profits, and new regulation on leveraged buyouts and stock-buyback transactions.

A’Gaci LLC’s unsecured creditors will recover about 22 cents on the dollar of the $19 million that they are owed, according to the reorganization plan of the bankrupt retailer of clothing and shoes for young women, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The San Antonio-based company unveiled the estimated recoveries in chapter 11 court papers filed this week that also show that secured creditors, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Bank of America Corp., are expected to be made whole. A’Gaci has received no serious offers for its business during its bankruptcy proceedings. A March 26 deadline for qualified bids came and went with no offers being made for its assets. As a result, an auction and a sales hearing scheduled for last month were canceled. The retailer continues to restructure its operations with the hopes of leaving bankruptcy by late July, the filing shows.