風光一時的牛仔品牌True Religion在上周三表示，公司正在尋求破產法院保護，以削減其債務，并改善其不斷下滑的業務。標普全球市場情報為《財富》匯編的數據顯示，該公司成為了這個日歷年第23位尋求破產保護的零售商或以消費品為導向的公司。零售業破產企業的數量或將創歷史新高。

True Religion首席執行官約翰·艾瑪廷格在一份聲明中指出，即便在True Religion專注于打造其電商業務的期間，重組交易可允許公司繼續維持其店面營業。此外，公司的計劃（取決于法院的批準）要求將債務削減三分之二，即減至5.35億美元。公司稱，它將利用破產法來關閉或合并業績不佳的店面，而且會盡可能地與業主重新協商租賃條款。然而，Ture Religion仍有可能關閉其店面。這家15年前成立的品牌上一個財年的營收為3.695億美元，但銷售額在過去幾年中一直處于下滑狀態。

申請破產的公司不止True Religion一家，這一點應該能給艾瑪廷格帶來些許安慰。很多零售商都在這一艱難的時期申請破產，尤其是以大賣場為依托的服裝店。在過去兩年中，像American Apparel、Quiksilver、Wet Seal、Nasty Gal和Pacific Sunwear這樣的品牌均申請了破產保護。上個月，Papaya Clothing也加入了破產大軍。

購物選擇的增加、年輕消費者變化無常、眾多商場遭遇冷落以及快時尚連鎖店更快的生產周期（例如H&M和Forever 21）對這些零售商造成了巨大的沖擊。再者，面對亞馬遜在某些領域不斷壯大的主導地位，其他零售商未能升級其產品種類和業務模式。銷售額的下降和店面的擴張共同導致了其中很多品牌的覆滅。

標普公司全球市場情報部門在今年早些時候發表的一篇文章中指出，“零售業的困境是多方面的，每個深陷困境的公司都面臨著不同的難題，但人們普遍認為，美國的店面數已過于飽和，如果要拯救毫無起色或不斷下滑的店面銷售額，零售商在很大程度上需要通過在線業務來尋找對策。當前，銷售額增長大部分都集中在線上。”破產潮在短時間內還不會結束：今年冬季，穆迪投資者服務的一篇報告指出，到期債務將在未來5年內逐漸達到創紀錄的水平。

以下是2017年主要破產零售公司的清單：

The Limited公司

女性服飾連鎖店The Limited于1月份申請破產保護，公司宣布將關閉美國所有250家店面，但仍將以在線的方式開展業務。公司指出，以大賣場為依托的零售店正面臨著挑戰。

Wet Seal公司

這家帶有沖浪風情的連鎖店今年冬季第二次申請破產，關閉了其剩余的171家門店，并對業務進行了清算，為這家紅極一時的品牌畫上了不光彩的句號。

Eastern Outfitters公司

折扣連鎖店Bob's Stores以及戶外用品零售商Eastern Mountain Sports的母公司Eastern Outfitters于2月宣布破產，主要原因在于體育用品領域日趨激烈的競爭，而殘酷的競爭也讓The Sports Authority公司在去年走到了盡頭。

BCBG Max Azria公司

BCBG Max Azria申請了破產保護，原因在于苦不堪言的巨額債務。

Hhgregg公司

電子產品零售商未能像其對手Best Buy那樣在亞馬遜時代調整其策略。此外，hhgregg在其另一個主要業務板塊——家居用品和電器領域——也面臨著壓力。在冬季尋求破產法院的保護之后，Hhgregg隨后關閉了所有的店面，其對手Best Buy、Sears和J.C. Penney正尋求瓜分其部分市場份額。

Radio Shack公司

由于面臨頗具挑戰性的電子產品零售環境，外加上與無線服務提供商Sprint Corp令人失望的合作，電子產品連鎖店RadioShack Corp于3月申請破產，這是該公司在略超過兩年的時間中第二次申請破產。

Gander Mountain公司

這家戶外和體育用品零售商為過于激進的擴張付出了代價，它于3月向法院申請破產保護。兩個月后，總部位于伊利諾伊州的房車零售網點公司以及戶外相關服務提供商Camping World Holdings在法庭拍賣中購買了Gander Mountain公司，并表示將維持Gander 70家店面的運營。

Payless公司

在4月初，Payless ShoeSource已確認向法院尋求破產保護，藉此削減部分讓其苦不堪言的債務，并關閉400家門店，以期輕裝上陣，東山再起。該零售商一直在奮力與DSW和TJX旗下的T.J. Maxx開展競爭。

Rue21公司

關注于青少年市場的連鎖店于4月開始關閉其400家門店，隨后在5月申請了破產。

Gymboree公司

上個月，童裝公司尋求破產保護，以削減9億美元的債務，并關閉了數百家店面。其競爭對手The Children's Place、Carter's，甚至塔吉特百貨均讓其感到苦不堪言。

到目前為止， 2017年尋求破產保護的零售商還包括Fabric Avenue、Vanity Shop of Grand Forks、Michigan Sporting Goods Distributors、Marbles Holdings和Pinnacle Auto Lease等。 （財富中文網）

譯者：馮峰

審校：夏林

True Religion, a once popular denim brand, on Wednesday said it was seeking bankruptcy court protection to slash its debt and fix its ailing business, becoming the 23rd retailer or consumer-oriented company to do so this calendar year, according to data compiled for Fortune by S&P Global Market Intelligence. The retail sector is on pace for a record number of bankruptcies.

True Religion Chief Executive John Ermatinger said in a statement that the restructuring deal will allow True Religion to keep stores open even as it focuses on building up its e-commerce. What's more, the company's plan, subject to court approval, calls for reducing its debt by three-quarter to $535 million, the company said it would use bankruptcy laws to close or consolidate underperforming stores and, where possible, renegotiate leases with landlords. Still, it is likely True Religion will close stores. The 15 year-old brand had sales of $369.5 million in revenue in its most recent fiscal year but sales have been in decline for some years.

Ermatinger can take solace knowing he has plenty of company: the bankruptcy filing comes at a difficult time for many retailers, particularly mall-based apparel stores. In the last two years, brands like American Apparel, Quiksilver, Wet Seal, Nasty Gal and Pacific Sunwear have filed for bankruptcy protection. Last month, Papaya Clothing joined those ranks.

The abundance of options, the fickleness of young shoppers, the dwindling popularity of many malls and the faster production cycle of fast-fashion chains like H&M and Forever 21 have taken a heavy toll on such retailers. Elsewhere, other retailers have been unable to update their assortment and business model to reflect Amazon.com's (amzn, +1.86%) growing dominance in some areas. Dwindling sales and inflated stores fleets have combined to put many of them out of business.

"Retail's troubles are manifold, and the diagnosis is different in each struggling company's case, but it is widely agreed that the U.S. is over-stored and that the solution for flat or declining in-store sales resides to a significant degree online, where the most sales growth is now taking place," S&P Global Market Intelligence said in an article earlier this year. And the bloodbath won't end soon: this winter, a report by Moody's Investors Service found that debt maturities were on their way to record levels in the next five years.

Here is a list of the major 2017 retail bankruptcies so far:

The Limited

Women's apparel chain The Limited filed for bankruptcy protection in January, announcing it would close all 250 of its stores across the United States but remain open as an online business, citing the challenges facing mall-based retail.

Wet Seal

The surfing flavored chain filed for bankruptcy for the second time this winter, closing its remaining 171 stores and liquidating its business, an ignominious end to a once popular brand.

Eastern Outfitters

Eastern Outfitters, the parent of discount chain Bob's Stores and outdoor retailer Eastern Mountain Sports, filed in February, felled by growing competition in the sporting goods arena that put The Sports Authority out of business the year before.

BCBG Max Azria

BCBG Max Azria Group filed for bankruptcy protection, choked by a huge debt load.

Hhgregg

The electronics retailer was unable to adjust to the Amazon era, unlike rival Best Buy (bby, -1.81%). What's more, hhgregg faced pressure in home furnishings and appliances, the other big chunk of its business. After seeking bankruptcy court protection in the winter, Hhgregg later shut down all its stores, with the likes of Best Buy, Sears and J.C. Penney (jcp, -1.26%) looking to win some of the market share.

Radio Shack

The electronics chain RadioShack Corp filed for bankruptcy in March for the second time in a little over two years, faced with a challenging retail environment for its category and a disappointing partnership with wireless provider Sprint Corp.

Gander Mountain

The outdoor and sporting goods retailer paid a price for overly aggressive expansion, landing in bankruptcy court in March. Two months later, Camping World Holdings, an Illinois-based network of RV-centric retail locations and outdoor-related services, won Gander Mountain in a court auction and said it would keep open 70 of Gander's stores.

Payless

In early April, Payless ShoeSource confirmed that it would seek bankruptcy court protection as it looked to unload some crippling debt and close 400 stores in the hopes of making another go of it as a leaner store chain. The retailer has struggled to compete with the likes of DSW (dsw, -2.20%) and TJX's (tax, +1.52%) T.J. Maxx.

Rue21

The teen focused chain started closing 400 stores in April before filing for bankruptcy the following month.

Gymboree

Last month, the children's wear company sought bankruptcy protection to lower its debt by $900 million and close hundreds of stores. Gymboree has had trouble competing with rivals like The Children's Place, Carter's and even Target.

Other retailers to seek bankruptcy protection in 2017 so far include: Fabric Avenue, Vanity Shop of Grand Forks, Michigan Sporting Goods Distributors, Marbles Holdings, Pinnacle Auto Lease, among others.