DISTRESSED DAILY: J. Jill Clothed in Doubt After Downgrade

When J. Jill Inc. went public in 2017 as the downturn in retail accelerated, its former Chief Executive Officer Paula Bennett said “the headwinds facing others are tailwinds for us.” Unfortunately, that’s not how it worked out.

• Last week interim CEO Jim Scully talked about disappointing results and a team that is “working hard to stabilize the business.”
• J. Jill was outperforming other retailers when it went public in March of 2017 with positive same-store sales in 17 of its last 19 quarters, but the women’s apparel company has since succumbed to the growing retail apocalypse, too.
  • Merchants in the ...