Fragrance retailer with local store files for bankruptcy protection

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Fragrance seller Perfumania has filed for bankruptcy protection, and plans to close 65 of its 230 stores as it focuses more on selling online.

Perfumania has three stores in Indiana, including one in Indianapolis at Castleton Square mall. The others are in outlet malls in Edinburgh and Michigan City.

The mall-based retailer plans to offer investors $2 per share as it converts to a private company. The stock surged more than 40 percent Monday to close at $1.87 per share.

Perfumania, which is based in Bellport, New York, filed for Chapter 11 protection over the weekend. Spokeswoman Jennifer Mercer said the company expects to eliminate 195 jobs as part of the store closings.

Mercer said $14 million from an undisclosed investor, combined with $84 million in financing from its current lender, Wells Fargo, will pay for the reorganization.

Perfumania Holdings Inc. CEO Michael Katz said the company will focus more of its resources on e-commerce.

The company's wholesale businesses, Parlux, holds the exclusive distribution rights to President Donald Trump’s fragrances, Success and Empire, and Ivanka Trump’s eponymous fragrance. The company’s portfolio also includes fragrances from celebrities such as Jay Z, Rihanna and Jessica Simpson.

Perfumania said its Parlux and Five Star Fragrance subsidiaries were not included in the Chapter 11 filings.

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