‘Most interesting’ lifestyle retailer is closing all stores for good in hours

A PROMINENT lifestyle retailer has announced that its locations will be closing for good in less than 24 hours.

The brand, Showfields Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a court in Brooklyn three months ago on October 9, 2023.

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The department store described itself as the “most interesting store in the world,” according to the filing.

It also estimated debts between a range of $1 million to $10 million, with only about $3,000 left over in cash.

Showfields closed locations in Manhattan and Miami around the time of the filing to place focus on its remaining locations in Brooklyn and Washington DC.

The Miami store shuttered for good in July, while the Manhattan store, its flagship location in the heart of the NoHo neighborhood, closed in September.

Although, on January 13, the remaining Brooklyn, Washington DC, and Los Angeles locations will close, per Retail Dive.

A company-wide memo confirming the closures was shared with the publication and posted on X, formerly Twitter, by Jeanna Liu, the founder of Cowbell Plant Co, a brand focused on the effective hydration of flowers.

Showfields had reportedly told vendors that it had no updates on the bankruptcy filing from October.

They urged vendors that they might be able to file claims as creditors through bankruptcy filing to make up for the time they paid for but seemingly will not get, per the memo.

The memo also stated that Showfields could not pay for return-to-vendor shipping.

In October, the bankruptcy filing noted that Showfields was working with a debt-financing company in an attempt to salvage its financial woes.

Specifically, the brand worked with the US Small Business Administration for relief of $500,000 and Pipe Technologies for $1.4million in March 2020.

The retailer had “entered into an agreement with the debt-financing company Pipe Technologies Inc. whereby the debtor sold its accounts receivable and recurring revenues to obtain operating capital for its businesses in the aggregate amount of $1.4 million,” according to the filing.

Showfields noted it lost considerably more revenue than expected during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“As with most commercial enterprises established almost immediately prior to and during the Covid-19 pandemic, the Debtor was plagued with lower-than-expected revenue streams from the Non-Debtor Stores due to low Member sales resulting from the national lockdown and gradual reopening of public spaces across the country,” the filing read.

HIGH HOPES

Showfields previously said it was confident about the new plans for better “economic structure” amid the filing in October.

 Co-founder and Chief Executive Tal Zvi Nathanel also said he saw “great things ahead” for the department store brand, which began in New York City in 2019.

“It pains me to leave our NoHo and Miami stores but we see great things ahead,” Nathanel said about the closures in while speaking with Retail Dive earlier this year.

“While it took us a few years to fine-tune, today we know the right economic structure for new locations, as we have shown in our newest stores.”

“We remain dedicated to our mission of redefining the way people discover and experience retail,” the CEO added.

The U.S. Sun previosuly contacted Showfields for comment in October, and the company explained that it was leaning toward an expansion in Europe.

“The transformative flexible retail platform will focus on newest locations and look toward a European expansion,” a spokesperson for Showfields wrote.

“In response to the changing retail landscape, Showfields has successfully secured additional funding to support the restructuring process, with a focus on its newest flagship stores in Washington, D.C and Brooklyn, including a newly expanded wing in its Brooklyn location.”

It’s unclear if the European expansion plans are still moving forward amid the closures of the rest of the United States locations.

For more on store closures, check out The U.S. Sun’s coverage of a home improvement retailer that shut down 17 stores.

The U.S. Sun also has the story on a legendary department store that’s closing its final location in one state.