National Retailer With 7 Jersey Stores Facing Bankruptcy

FORMAN MILLS! We can all hear that distinctive voice baking out the store name in commercials in our heads, but the future of the national discount retailer with seven New Jersey stores is in question, according to Philadelphia Business Journal.

The retailer laid off 119 corporate workers at its headquarters in Pennsauken in early June. Lawyers for those workers have filed a class action lawsuit against Forman Mills for mass layoffs without sufficient notice.

New Jersey law requires employers with at least 100 employees to give workers 90 days’ notice of a mass layoff and pay severance of at least one week’s pay for every year of service. The law was prompted by mass layoffs at another retailer that went under — Toys “R” Us.

Forman Mills' Chief Financial Officer said they're working on selling the company, but may not be successful. If that's the case, he said the company will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Forman Mills has South Jersey locations in Egg Harbor Township, Vineland, and Pennsauken. Overall, Foreman Mills has 44 locations in 11 states.

Forman Mills was founded by Richard Foreman in Philadelphia in 1985. In 2016, the chain was sold to a private equity firm, Goode Partners L.L.C.