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Owner of M. Wile & Co. files for bankruptcy protection(Buffalo News, The (NY) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Jan. 27--Hartmarx Corp., the owner of Buffalo-born clothing maker M. Wile & Co., has filed for bankruptcy protection, citing a decline in apparel sales and an inability to borrow. The Chicago-based clothing manufacturer, which operates an outlet store and distribution center at 2020 Elmwood Ave. in Buffalo, filed for Chapter 11 protection Friday, listing $100 million in assets and $500 million in debts. The company's local retail and warehousing operations currently employ fewer than 50 workers. Homi Patel, Hartmarx chairman and chief executive, issued a statement saying the company had no immediate plans to close facilities or cut its workforce as a result of its financial woes. "As we pursue strategic alternatives, we will continue to provide the same high quality apparel under the same well-known and trusted brands. Furthermore, we will continue to be committed to our employees, suppliers and customers," Patel said. Just last week, Hartmarx got big-time exposure for its clothing when President Obama wore a Hart Schaffner Marx suit for his swearing-in, later donning a custom-made tuxedo and topcoat from the company as he attended a string of inaugural balls. The president earlier wore one of a half-dozen custom suits from the Chicago company's Gold Trumpeter collection on Election Night. Hartmarx did not return calls regarding the impact of the bankruptcy filing on its Buffalo operations. The local facility has seen a steady reduction of its workforce here in recent years, including the elimination of some 50 jobs in the past 12 months. Representatives of UNITE, the union representing local Hartmarx workers, could not be reached to comment. Hartmarx counted more than 2,000 Western New York employees at now-closed apparel manufacturing facilities on Goodell Street in Buffalo, and in the City of Dunkirk in the late 1970s. The company, which stopped sewing suits here in 2002, has steadily eliminated jobs from its remaining Elmwood Avenue operations, including a group of 90 workers in 2006. In a January 2008 Buffalo News interview, Patel said future decisions on workforce reduction in Buffalo would be tied to overall company performance. "If there's less business, there will be attrition," Patel said. Hartmarx retained Buffalo commercial real estate firm J. R. Militello Realty last year to market nearly 300,000-square-feet of excess space at the Elmwood Avenue site. "We are continuing to seek subleasing opportunities for Hartmarx. We have not been informed of any change in that relationship following the bankruptcy," firm principal James Militello said Monday. The real estate broker said the Elmwood Avenue site is primarily composed of light manufacturing/ warehouse space, with approximately 25,000- square-feet of offices. Local Hartmarx operations have their roots in M. Wile & Co., an apparel business founded in Buffalo by German immigrant Mayer Wile in 1877. Hart, Schaffner & Marx, now known as Hartmarx, M. Wile in 1969 and continued to operate it as a separate unit, making suits under the Wile name and other brands. [email protected] To see more of The Buffalo News, N.Y., or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.buffalonews.com. Copyright (c) 2009, The Buffalo News, N.Y. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. |