Five fashion stores in Burnaby have been saved – at least for now – as the parent company paid off its creditors nearly $100 million.
Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. operates five clothing stores in Burnaby, with three Reitmans-branded stores at Market Crossing, Metropolis at Metrotown and Lougheed Town Centre, plus a South Burnaby Penningtons and a Metrotown RW&Co shop.
But their future has been murky as the company filed for creditor protection due to heavy losses, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reitmans now says it has paid creditors $95 million as it exits creditor protection after about 20 months.
The Montreal-based company says it has paid court-appointed monitor Ernst & Young Inc. to distribute funds to creditors according to the plan of arrangement.
A list of known creditors as of September 2020, posted online by the monitor, shows Reitmans owed a total of $192,656,167 at that time.
The company says it has also obtained a credit facility for up to $115 million from the Bank of Montreal.
The funds will be used to pay creditors, for working capital and other purposes including new store openings and renovations.
Reitmans filed for creditor protection and obtained an initial order under the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act in May 2020.
The women's clothing retailer operates 412 stores consisting of 241 Reitmans, 93 Penningtons and 78 RW&CO.
- With reporting by the Canadian Press
