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Bankruptcy Judge Alan Trust approved a roughly $133 million sale of Rubie's Costume Co. yesterday that aims to bring the retailer out of bankruptcy and save 400 jobs, Newsday reported. "There's really no dispute that this sale is in the best interest of these estates, their creditors and their employees," said Judge Trust, who is presiding over the bankruptcy of Rubie's and five affiliated companies in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of New York. "The sale is approved with the modifications." Attorneys for Rubie's and the retailer's creditors told Trust they were close to negotiating through concerns and would file paperwork finalizing modifications to the sale agreement by the end of yesterday. A new company called Rubies II, LLC, is slated to purchase the retailer, which has corporate headquarters in Westbury and sales headquarters in Melville. Rubies II is a collaboration between Joel Weinshanker, chairman of the National Entertainment Collectibles Association Inc.; the investment advisory firm Atalaya; and the primary owners of the current company, the Beige family, court papers show. Rubie's president Marc Beige noted in an affidavit — or written statement — that the sale would save about 400 jobs. He said the alternative would have involved selling Rubie's property and using the proceeds to pay its bills. Liquidation would have given creditors less compensation than the sale, which is expected to pay creditors about 55 percent to 60 percent of what they are owed, according to court filings.

Neiman Marcus Group Inc. is reducing the size of its store workforce as part of a reassessment of its business as it emerges from bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The department store said that it began laying off some store workers on Wednesday after a reorganization of staff at its Neiman Marcus and Bergdorf Goodman locations. “We are evaluating every part of our business to ensure that the company is positioned for long-term success,” Neiman Marcus said in a statement. “We plan to separate from selling and non-selling associates.” The company declined to disclose how many employees would be affected by the cuts. Some new positions will be added for customer service and personal styling. Neiman Marcus is emerging from bankruptcy this month after filing for chapter 11 soon after coronavirus rocked global markets and the U.S. economy earlier this year. Neiman Marcus has been closing stores throughout the year, including the New York flagship location it opened in 2019. 

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is backing a new effort to raise $400 million that would allow it to keep its rental car fleet stocked with new vehicles for a return to business once the coronavirus pandemic eases, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The nation’s largest car-rental company filed for bankruptcy protection in May, its revenues hammered by restrictions imposed to suppress the spread of COVID-19, which has claimed more than 200,000 lives in the U.S. The new securitization deal between Donlen Corp., which supplies Hertz with cars, and Barclays Bank PLC is separate from Hertz’s search for chapter 11 financing in the form of a $1.5 billion loan that will preserve the company until business returns to normal levels. Multiple lenders are offering to provide the bankruptcy loan, Hertz lawyer Thomas Lauria of White & Case LLP said yesterday. Some potential financiers already have money riding on Hertz, but others don’t, and there are offers from potential backers willing to settle all the company’s debts, as part of the bankruptcy financing. The proposed $400 million asset-backed securitization deal might reduce Hertz’s need to draw down on a bankruptcy loan, but it won’t reduce the size of the chapter 11 financing, Lauria said.

Candy store chain It’Sugar filed for chapter 11 protection on Tuesday, citing its inability to make up for sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reported. It’Sugar, a Florida-based company owned by BBX Capital Corp., said its four locations in Las Vegas, including its U.S. flagship location on the Strip, will remain open while the company goes through bankruptcy proceedings. The retailer shuttered its approximately 100 locations nationwide in March because of the pandemic and opened in June and July, but sales haven’t improved. It’Sugar said that 60 percent of its annual sales are related to travel and tourism. According to court documents, most of It’Sugar’s unsecured debt claims are from landlords, including $502,973.28 in rent money owed for the Grand Bazaar Shops store and $458,238.36 to the Grand Canal Shoppes. The company stopped paying rent or has only made partial payments as company executives tried to negotiate deferment or abatement deals with its landlords, according to Levan. “This has not occurred and resulted in the decision to file bankruptcy proceedings,” he said.

U.S. motorcycle maker Harley-Davidson said today that it expects to report $75 million in additional restructuring costs for 2020 related to actions including discontinuing its sales and manufacturing operations in India, Reuters reported. The announcement comes two months after Harley unveiled a strategy to shift focus back to more profitable motorcycles and core markets such as the U.S. Harley said earlier in the year that it planned to reduce its product portfolio and exit lower volume markets, without specifying which ones. The company said it now expects total restructuring costs of about $169 million in 2020, and this will also include a workforce reduction of about 70 employees in India, a market where its annual sales volumes account for less than 5 percent of the company's total.

Wendy’s Co. and Pizza Hut LLC are raising concerns over their largest franchisee’s effort to sell its assets, including the franchise agreements, in bankruptcy court, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. NPC International Inc., which operates 392 Wendy’s and 1,200 Pizza Hut restaurants, filed for bankruptcy in July with a plan to find buyers for its assets. The company’s franchisee agreements with the restaurant operators are the most valuable assets it is marketing in its sale process. Both Wendy’s and Pizza Hut have recently warned in filings with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston that they are uneasy about any sales of the franchise pacts to third parties. Wendy’s said that the company doesn’t have enough say at an early stage over which interested bidders can participate in the sale process. Meanwhile, Pizza Hut claims NPC can’t sell its Pizza Hut restaurants to a third party since it has failed to keep up performance at a level required by its franchise agreement. Binding bids for the Wendy’s and Pizza Hut restaurants are due on Oct. 20 and Nov. 5, respectively. Bids for all of NPC’s assets are also due Nov. 5, court filings show.

Ralph Lauren Corp. said yesterday that it would cut 15 percent of its global workforce by the end of this fiscal year as the luxury retailer strives to lower costs and ride out the impact of COVID-19 on sales and shopping habits, Reuters reported. The New York-based fashion house, which has 530 stores globally, said the changes would see it move more business online. The company did not say how many or what type of jobs could go, but based on its last reported total workforce of about 24,900 employees, the changes could impact more than 3,700 employees. “The changes happening in the world around us have accelerated the shifts we saw pre-COVID, and we are fast-tracking some of our plans to match them,” Chief Executive Officer Patrice Louvet said. The health crisis has hit demand for high-end handbags, apparel and accessories as more customers hold back on non-essential spending, forcing many companies to slow their expansion plans. It has also put the brakes on the industry’s biggest ever merger, with France’s LVMH trying to back out of its $16 billion deal to acquire Tiffany & Co. Britain’s Burberry Group and luxury department store operator Harrods have also cut hundreds of jobs.

The New York City Council is considering several bills that would aid restaurants as they try to recover from the economic hit brought on by the new coronavirus pandemic, including one that would make sidewalk and curbside street dining permanent, the New York Times reported. Mayor Bill de Blasio announced in July that the Open Restaurants program, a key feature of the city’s effort to support restaurants financially during the pandemic, would be extended until Oct. 31. The program allows restaurants and bars to expand outdoor seating in sidewalks, city streets and parking lots to increase revenue while maintaining social-distancing guidelines intended to curb the spread of the virus. As part of the legislation introduced by City Councilman Antonio Reynoso, restaurants and bars would also be allowed to use propane heaters, which are currently banned in New York City. The Department of Transportation would also be required to set up an online application process that can be used by restaurateurs to certify their establishments for outdoor dining, according to the bill. Currently, the city only allows pickup and outdoor dining at restaurants. New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said earlier this month that restaurants could resume indoor dining at 25 percent capacity starting Sept. 30.

Hertz Global Holdings Inc. is negotiating with its creditors for a loan to bolster operations after months of funding itself during bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. The rental-car company is mulling two tentative offers for loans of about $1 billion to $1.5 billion. The proposals came from a group of Hertz’s unsecured creditors and a separate set of first-lien creditors. The offers aren’t yet formal and could fall through as the parties work on the details. Hertz filed for bankruptcy in May without a customary debtor-in-possession loan already in place, opting instead to rely on a large stockpile of cash on hand. The company first disclosed it would seek a DIP loan in August, after its attempt to raise money by selling potentially worthless shares failed. The company meanwhile has resolved a standoff with lenders over leases on its fleet and benefited from rebounding used-vehicle prices. Hertz said in a previous filing that it’s looking for new sources of cash. The travel business remains in a deep slump and much of the proceeds from vehicle sales have been going to pay off creditors.

Ascena Retail Group Inc., the parent company of Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant, won bankruptcy-court approval to sell its plus-size brand Catherines to FullBeauty Brands for nearly $41 million, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. Bankruptcy Judge Kevin R. Huennekens of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Richmond, Va. said that he would approve the sale of Catherines’ intellectual-property assets and e-commerce business to FullBeauty Brands Operations LLC, which was named the winning bidder following a multiple-round bankruptcy auction. As part of the deal, New York-based FullBeauty Brands has also agreed to assume certain liabilities, including honoring gift cards. Last week, FullBeauty emerged the victor at a bankruptcy auction for Catherines’ assets after outbidding plus-size women’s apparel retailer City Chic Collective Ltd. When Ascena filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy in July, City Chic had been named the lead bidder, or stalking horse, with an original $16 million offer for the assets. The starting bid at the auction was FullBeauty Brands’ offer of about $17.1 million, court records show.