Photo: Wikimedia Commons
The Children's Place, the US kids' clothing chain controlled by a Saudi family office, has filed for bankruptcy after two years of rescue loans failed to turn it around.
The New Jersey-based retailer filed for Chapter 11 protection late on Sunday in the US Bankruptcy Court in Newark, Reuters reported via CBC. It plans to sell substantially all of its assets.
Mithaq Capital, the family office of Saudi Arabia's Al Rajhi family, holds a 61.1% equity stake, according to a court filing.
The rescue
Mithaq stepped in early in 2024, after the company warned that its cash position was getting worse. It quickly built a controlling stake of about 54% and became the largest shareholder.
Since then it has kept the chain going with Shariah-compliant unsecured loans. The retailer drew $15 million in July and another $25 million in September, according to Bloomberg Law.
The turnaround never came. Net sales fell 18.9% to $241.8 million in the latest quarter. The company lost more than $80 million in the first six months of 2026.
Children's Place had assets of $742.3 million and liabilities of $881.3 million as of August 1.
The Saudi leadership has left
Mithaq's people had already gone before the filing. Interim CEO Muhammad Asif Seemab, who is also Mithaq's managing director, left the company. Executive Chair Turki Saleh AlRajhi also left, along with the chief strategy officer and a director, according to a regulatory filing.
What happens next
The company has received nine proposals to buy some or most of its assets. It wants bids by December 9 and expects the court-supervised sale to finish by the end of December. Its roughly 514 stores and websites stay open during the process.
The chain, founded in 1969, also owns the Gymboree, Sugar & Jade and PJ Place brands. Through franchise partners it also has stores in the Middle East, including Saudi Arabia.
The buyer will decide what happens to the brand. For Mithaq, the filing ends one of the most visible bets by a Saudi family office on a listed US retailer.
