Mervyns face financial squeeze

NEW YORK (AP) - Mervyns LLC, the low-end department store chain that has been languishing for several years, could be the latest casualty of the fiercely competitive retail climate. The privately held company, which operates about 175 stores in seven states but primarily in California, is facing bare shelves and a cash crunch as vendors are delaying shipments and key lenders that provide finance and credit to apparel makers have stopped approving orders. "We are advising clients to hold off shipments primarily due to lack of communications from management," said Bob Carbonell, chief credit officer at Bernard Sands LLC, a credit monitoring company. Carbonell, who said he's working with several dozen clients that sell to the chain, noted that Mervyns had been consistently providing financial updates until about a week ago. A... [read full story]