Mexx goes bankrupt, affecting 95 Canadian stores

The shakeup in womens fashion merchandising continues with the bankruptcy of Dutch fashion chain Mexx.

On Thursday, a judge in the Netherlands declared the chain, with 315 stores worldwide, bankrupt.

• Middle class retailers dying a slow death: Don Pittis

Mexx had a strong presence in the Canadian market with 95 corporate-owned stores in Canada, many of them in Quebec. It also had a warehouse in Montreal and its designs were carried by The Bay.

In a press release, chief creative officer Julia Hansen cited deep discounting in the fashion sector in Canada as part of the reason for the bankruptcy.

The trading business has been challenged by the slowdown inorders and retail sales, particularly in Europe, with the impact of the Russian currencydepreciation, the Eastern European political unrest, and by promotional pricingpressure in Canada, the release said.

Stores are expected to remain open for some time while the chain sells off merchandise.

Mexx was purchased by Liz Claiborne in 2001 and sold off 10 years later to U.S.based private equity firm The Gores Group.