Cache closes flagship Garment District office amid bankruptcy

Women’s clothier shuttering all stores; fate of 43K sf plant unknown

From left: 256 West 38th Street in the Garment District, Cache store (credit: Groupon) and Jay Margolis
From left: 256 West 38th Street in the Garment District, Cache store (credit: Groupon) and Jay Margolis

Women’s clothing chain Cache has shuttered its 43,100-square-foot office headquarters in the Garment District in the wake of filing for bankruptcy protection last month, allowing for the space to potentially hit the market later this year.

Cache moved its office to 256-260 West 38th Street, owned by the scandal-plagued American Realty Capital, in 2012. There, its primary distribution facility occupied the full third, fourth and sixth floors.

The company, founded in Miami in 1976, filed for Chapter 11 on Feb. 4, amid ongoing losses and a lack of funds. Three weeks later, Donna Edbril, senior vice president and general counsel for Cache, submitted a notice to the New York State Department of Labor with plans to Close The Office On 38th Street and lay off all 100 workers. As of Friday, Edbril is no longer an employee at Cache, according to an automated email response.

On March 3, liquidation advisory firm Great American Group, a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based B. Riley Financial, won an $18 million bid for Cache’s assets and is proceeding to close all 153 remaining stores in the U.S., U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico.

Great American consultants are now occupying the former Cache office space, which will remain open during the liquidation of all the assets, according to a spokesperson for the adviser. Great American has lease designation rights and is in the process of negotiating all of Cache’s leases, the spokesperson said.

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Going-out-of-business sales are expected to run through May 31, according to court records. Store locations will stay open until all merchandise is sold.

“For over thirty years, we’ve built a reputation of providing a premier boutique shopping experience that caters to fashion-conscious women,” Cache CEO Jay Margolis said in a statement. “For that, we’d like to thank our customers for their incredible loyalty over the years and our associates for their commitment in maintaining the high level of customer service we are known for throughout this transition.”

Brokers at Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, which handles leasing at 256 West 38th Street, declined to comment, as did American Realty Capital. The real estate investment trust bought the 100,000-square-foot former apparel factory between Seventh and Eighth avenues from East End Capital and GreenOak Real Estate for $48.6 million in 2012.

Cache has three stores in the city – 1144 Third Avenue on the Upper East Side, 10 Columbus Circle on the Upper West Side and the Staten Island Mall.

Earlier this year, one-time electronics giant RadioShack and clothing retailer C. Wonder both announced they will be shutting down.