Bankruptcy Petition Filed Against La Senza

MGF Sourcing and two other suppliers filed an involuntary bankruptcy case against La Senza International Canada, LLC, in an effort to get paid on about $43 million in what they claim are overdue bills.

Regent L.P., the Beverly Hills-based investment bank, took over La Senza from L Brands (the owner of Victoria’s Secret) at the start of 2019. At the time, La Senza was operating about 130 company-owned stores in North America, 118 of which were in Canada and 12 in the U.S. In addition it supplies about 186 La Senza franchise shops (as of November 2018) around the world.

According to the January 24 court filing, MGF is owed almost $42 million for products is has shipped to La Senza. In addition two other suppliers, Ocean Lanka (Pvt) Ltd. and Teejay Lanka Plc also claimed they are owed $731,805.50 and $195,209 respectively.

When it announced the sale of La Senza, L Brands said it was losing money on the chain. “The company estimates that La Senza’s 2018 revenues and operating loss will be approximately $250 million and $40 million (approximately $0.12 per share), respectively.”

BODY learned from sources that in 2019 Regent had been considering severing its relationship with MGF and was contemplating the sale of some of the North American La Senza stores.

An emailed request for comment from Regent had not been answered as we went to press. If one is received it will be added to this story.

In mid-December 2018, L Brands first announced the “definitive agreement to transfer ownership and operating control of La Senza – inclusive of the home office organization, North American stores and e-commerce and international partnerships,” adding that it was selling “100 percent of its assets in La Senza in exchange for the buyer’s agreement to assume La Senza’s operating liabilities and to provide L Brands potential future consideration upon the sale or other monetization of La Senza, as defined in the agreement.”