Mendocino files for insolvency and is closing stores in Toronto

Yet another Canadian retail chain is having to cut its losses after months of COVID-19-related closures.

Mendocino, the women's wear brand founded in Toronto 1987, has officially filed for insolvency.

Though it announced that it would be gradually reopening some of its 28 stores in and around the GTA starting June 20 after more than three months of closed doors, it has apparently been unable to recover from the financial blow.

In a massive restructuring, most or all Mendocino and M Boutique (its less expensive banner) locations will permanently close, with the company pivoting to its online platform out of necessity.

In a notice of intention to make a proposal under Canadian bankruptcy law that the clothier filed earlier this month, it stated that the "very difficult decision" was directly "as a result of challenges resulting from the pandemic."

And in a message to shoppers back in March, the brand rightfully deemed the health crisis "a dynamic situation of an unprecedented nature" — one that has drastically impacted such Canadian retailers as Aldo, David's Tea and Le Chateau, all of which have announced sweeping changes to their operations, including but not limited to shuttering a number of brick-and-mortar stores.