Gordmans

Gordmans filed bankruptcy twice - in 2017 and 2020 - before liquidating entirely. The Midwestern off-price retailer had been spun off from Boscov's, acquired by private equity, and loaded with debt. Stage Stores bought Gordmans out of the first bankruptcy, converting many of its own department stores to the Gordmans format. When Stage Stores itself filed bankruptcy in May 2020, Gordmans was liquidated along with it. The brand demonstrated how financial engineering creates cascading failures across retail portfolios.