Totowa-based owner of Mandee, Annie sez clothing stores files for bankruptcy

Big M Inc., the owner of women’s-china clothing wholesale chains Annie sez and Mandee, filed for bankruptcy protection, saying it owes creditors as much as $100 million.
Big M, which last year had about 150 U.S. stores, listed assets of more than $50 million in a Chapter 11 filing in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Newark, New Jersey. The company, based in Totowa, said it is negotiating final details of a $10 million credit line with Salus Capital Partners LLC.
The filing “is desirable and in the best interests of the company,” Big M’s board said in a resolution included in the petition. The Mandelbaum family founded Big M in 1948, according to the company website wholesale fashion clothing   .
The U.S. economic slowdown since 2008 has helped to drive other retailers into bankruptcy, including Loehmann’s Holdings Inc., Circuit City Stores Inc. and Borders Group Inc.
CIT Group/Commercial Services Inc. of New York is listed as Big M’s biggest unsecured creditor, owed about $2 million.
The case is In re Big M Inc. 13-10233, U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey (Newark).