Everything But Water Files for Bankruptcy
Everything But Water Inc., one of America’s largest swimwear retailers, filed for bankruptcy last month. The announcement made an already-anxious swimwear industry worry about the health of its market, said Melanie Michaud, a representative of Diane’s Beachwear, a Torrance, Calif.–based swimwear chain.
“The entire industry would be affected if a retailer that big goes out,” Michaud said.
Everything But Water is based in Orlando, Fla., and runs 70 fashion swimwear boutiques across the United States. It has five shops in California, including locations at the South Coast Plaza in Orange County and the Beverly Center in Los Angeles.
According to news reports, Everything But Water had $35 million in liabilities and was seeking a $5 million bankruptcy loan on an interim basis and an $11 million loan on a final basis.
It is unclear whether the retailer has made any progress in obtaining a loan, and no statement has been made following the initial bankruptcy announcement. Everything But Water is owned by JP Morgan Chase, which purchased the chain from previous owner Bear Growth Capital Partners. That company was a casualty of the economic crash of 2008.
Everything But Water is important to the swimwear industry not only for its relatively large real estate holdings. The chain also sells swimwear during every season, including winter, and offers a wide variety of fashion swimwear vendors such as Betsey Johnson, L*Space, Sauvage and Vix. —Andrew Asch
