The retailer has struggled to hold on to the image of the chosen wear of high school's "cool kids" that has been core to Jeffries's branding strategy. Jeffries made controversial comments that he would not welcome overweight shoppers. Former catalogue-based businesses that own stores, such as Sears and Delia's, have done particularly badly. Sears, which owns Kmart, has recorded four straight years of losses, is relying on loans from its hedge-fund manager CEO, Eddie Lampert. Delia's said in its bankruptcy filing that it has $74m in assets and $32.2m in debt.