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Toys “R” Us Inc., the retailer that filed for bankruptcy in North America, has been exploring options for its growing Asian business including a potential initial public offering, Bloomberg News reported today. The U.S. chain and its local joint venture partner, the billionaire Fung brothers, have been speaking with investment banks to study the feasibility of listing the Asian business on the Hong Kong bourse, according to the people. A deal could value the unit at as much as $2 billion. Toys “R” Us and some of its North American subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy last month, though its Asian unit wasn’t included in the proceedings. Deliberations are at an early stage, and Toys “R” Us hasn’t decided which path to pursue, the people said. Toys “R” Us owns about 85 percent of the Asian venture while Fung Group, the private holding company of Hong Kong businessmen Victor and William Fung, holds the remainder.

Nordstrom Inc. is suspending efforts to take the company private after struggling to get financing with favorable terms, another sign that the department-store industry has lost favor with both customers and investors, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The controlling members of the Nordstrom family will renew a review of its operations after the holiday season, the company announced yesterday. In scrubbing the deal for now, the Seattle-based company cited “the difficulty of obtaining debt financing in the current retail environment.” Together, the Nordstrom family owns about 30 percent of the company’s shares. Gordon Haskett analyst Chuck Grom estimated they needed to raise between $5.65 billion and $8.19 billion to acquire the remainder of the retailer.

Sears Canada on Friday won court approval to begin liquidating all its remaining assets starting Oct. 19, putting the retail chain with 12,000 employees on a path to closure after 65 years in the country, Reuters reported. The approval was granted by the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, which also extended creditor protection for Sears Canada to Jan. 22. The public liquidation sales are set to end on Jan. 21. The end comes after years of falling sales and sliding market share for Sears Canada, whose beginnings as a catalog company seemed to make it ideally suited to take advantage of consumers’ shift to online shopping. Weighed down by over C$1.1 billion ($879 million) in liabilities, almost matching its assets, and falling sales every quarter since it was spun off from Sears Holdings Corp in 2012, Sears Canada filed for creditor protection in June. It laid out a restructuring plan that included cutting 2,900 jobs and closing roughly a quarter of its stores. Last week, it won court approval to close 11 more stores and sell some businesses, and to extend creditor protection to Nov. 7. Read more. 

Don’t miss speakers discussing today’s most relevant cross-border cases and topics at ABI’s Cross-Border Insolvency Program in New York on Nov. 7. Click here for more information and to register. 

The biggest single age cohort today in the U.S. is 26-year-olds, who number 4.8 million, according to Torsten Slok, chief international economist for Deutsche Bank, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Companies looking to grab a piece of that business, however, have run into a problem. This generation, with its over-scheduled childhoods, tech-dependent lifestyles and delayed adulthood, is radically different from previous ones. They’re so different, in fact, that companies are developing new products, overhauling marketing and launching educational programs — all with the goal of luring the archetypal 26-year-old. Companies such as Scotts, Home Depot Inc., Procter & Gamble Co. , Williams-Sonoma Inc.’s West Elm and the Sherwin-Williams Co. are hosting classes and online tutorials to teach such basic skills as how to mow the lawn, use a tape measure, mop a floor, hammer a nail and pick a paint color.

Bon-Ton has hired consulting firm AlixPartners to provide operational advice regarding its turnaround efforts, while restructuring advisory PJT considers refinancing of the company’s debts, Consultancy.uk reported yesterday. The beleaguered bricks and mortar retailer is also reported to be interviewing banks to appoint an advisor to review strategic options including debt restructuring. Bon-Ton Stores is one of the largest regional department store chains in the U.S., operating about 260 stores primarily in the Northeast and Midwest of the country, under the names Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, Elder-Beerman, Herberger’s and Younkers. The American retailer has subsequently been facing significant sales declines. At the end of Q2 2017, Bon-Ton reportedly had $856 million in long-term debt, while holding $6 million in cash, putting its net debt at around $850 million.