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Buyout firm Sycamore Partners has won the auction for the e-commerce business and intellectual property of bankrupt U.S. women's apparel retailer The Limited with a bid of $26.8 million, Reuters reported yesterday. Sycamore Partners outbid clothing firm Sunrise Brands LLC in the auction, the people said, asking not to be identified because the outcome has not yet been announced. The sale to Sycamore Partners must still be approved by a U.S. bankruptcy court judge. The Limited was forced to close its roughly 250 brick-and-mortar stores earlier this year. It filed for bankruptcy last month, with Sycamore Partners as a stalking-horse bidder. Sunrise Brands, whose holdings include branded apparel for actresses Melissa McCarthy and Eva Longoria, submitted an offer for The Limited last week.

Perfumania Holdings Inc., a U.S. retailer with exclusive distribution rights to several Trump-branded colognes, has hired advisers to explore strategic alternatives, including a debt restructuring, Reuters reported on Friday. The move comes as Perfumania, a major U.S. fragrance retailer, looks to address its debt pile amid declining traffic at malls. The Bellport, N.Y.-based company is working with legal and financial advisers to explore options, including addressing its capital structure, according to the sources. Perfumania recorded debt of approximately $164 million at Oct. 29 and $2.1 million in cash and cash equivalents. The company also plans to negotiate with landlords to exit some of its 313 standalone Perfumania shops in the U.S.

HHGregg Inc. is turning to investment banks including Miller Buckfire & Co. for help as the electronics and furniture retailer battles weak sales, Bloomberg News reported yesterday. The retailer also retained Miller Buckfire’s parent Stifel Financial Corp. to explore a range of strategic transactions. Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP is hired as legal adviser, according to the report. Miller Buckfire will advise the company on plans including how to deal with its debt and a possible turnaround. The retailer posted disappointing numbers for the crucial holiday season in the quarter ended Dec. 31, with sales plunging 24 percent to about $453 million from the year earlier.

Clothing firm Sunrise Brands LLC has bid for the e-commerce business and intellectual property of bankrupt U.S. retailer The Limited, challenging a $26.3 million offer from private equity firm Sycamore Partners, Reuters reported today. Sunrise Brands' bid underscores the value it sees in The Limited's online presence and intellectual property, even as the specialty retailer was forced to close its roughly 250 brick-and-mortar stores earlier this year. It filed for bankruptcy last month, with Sycamore Partners as a stalking-horse bidder. The bankruptcy auction for The Limited is scheduled for Feb. 21 in Philadelphia. While the value of Sunrise Brands' offer could not be learned, the bankruptcy court required bids topping the one from Sycamore to start at $26.5 million. 

Nasty Gal Inc. is laying off employees and closing its brick-and-mortar stores in connection with the sale of its brand name, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday. The online fashion retailer will shut down its two California-area stores, which opened in the past couple of years as part of the fast-growing company’s expansion. Nasty Gal plans to close these stores by Feb. 28, the expected closing date of the $20 million sale of its brand name and other intellectual property to U.K. rival Boohoo.com. In a Monday filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Los Angeles, Nasty Gal sought permission to terminate the leases to its stores on Melrose Avenue and in Santa Monica. The move would save the company from monthly rent expenses of more than $125,000, it said.

Michigan Sporting Goods Distributors, which operates 68 sporting goods stores in seven states, has begun store liquidation sales at its MC Sports, MC Sporting Goods, MC Sport Outdoors Centers and Traverse Bay Tackle stores, MLive.com reported today. The liquidation sales coincide with a chapter 11 bankruptcy petition the company filed yesterday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of West Michigan. MC has been unable to compete with "online resellers, the expansion of competing distribution channels and specialty retailers and changing consumer preferences," according to the petition filed by Bruce Ullery, the company's president, CEO and largest shareholder for the past 28 years. The company lost about $5.4 million on sales of $174.6 million in its latest fiscal year, according to the petition.

Payless Inc. is in talks with its lenders over a restructuring plan that includes closing about 1,000 stores as it wrestles with an unsustainable debt load, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. The discount shoe retailer may consider filing for bankruptcy if it’s unable to reach a deal with the creditors. A decision on whether to restructure in or out of court may be reached as soon as this month. The chain has hired Guggenheim Partners to help in the effort. Payless was bought by private equity firms Golden Gate Capital and Blum Capital Partners in 2012 as part of a split of publicly traded Collective Brands Inc. The company, founded in 1956 in Topeka, Kansas, has more than 4,400 stores in 30 countries and employs more than 25,000 people, according to its website. The company’s biggest debt piece is a $520 million term loan due in 2021, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The loan, which was last quoted above par July 2014, declined another 2 cents to trade around 51 cents on the dollar.

Beleaguered retailer Sears Holdings Corp. said on Friday that it would cut costs by $1 billion and reduce debt and pension obligations by at least $1.5 billion this year, sending its shares soaring as much as 40 percent, Reuters reported. The company also said that it had sold five Sears full-line stores and two Auto Centers for $72.5 million in January, and had engaged Eastdil Secured to raise at least $1 billion from the sale of its real estate. Sears has spun off some of its stores into a real estate investment trust, put some brands on sale and repeatedly raised debt from billionaire Chief Executive Edward Lampert's hedge fund as part of efforts to cope with the slump. Under the latest plan, the company said that it would consolidate Sears and Kmart's corporate and support functions and improve product assortment at its stores. The company also reaffirmed that it would close 150 stores.

U.S. hunting and fishing chain Gander Mountain Co. is preparing to file for bankruptcy as early as this month, after an aggressive effort to expand its store base failed to pull in new customers, Reuters reported. Gander Mountain is working with financial advisory firm Lighthouse Management Group Inc. and law firm Fredrikson & Byron PA as it gets ready to file for bankruptcy. Gander Mountain, which bills itself as America's firearms superstore, has faced challenges capitalizing on a booming gun market. The Federal Bureau of Investigation carried out a record 27.5 million background checks on people seeking to buy guns in 2016, up 19 percent from the year before. Gander also has stiff competition from rivals like Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's Inc., which have been revamping their stores to attract customers with restaurants and shooting activities. Bass Pro agreed last year to buy Cabela's for $5.5 billion, potentially putting more pressure on Gander Mountain, though the deal has to overcome major hurdles to close, including antitrust concerns.