Fortunoff is set to be portioned off.
Confirming a report in The Post on Saturday, the 86-year-old jewelry-and-housewares chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yesterday.
Now, Fortunoff is being circled by liquidators. They’re expected to stage going-out-of-business sales this spring and shutter Fortunoff’s stores for good.
“It would take a miracle from the sky to save this company,” a source close to the discussions told The Post.
Less than a year ago, Fortunoff had been saved from liquidation by Lord & Taylor owner NRDC Equity Partners, which scooped it out of bankruptcy for $110 million.
NRDC, headed by New York real-estate mogul Richard Baker, had aimed to double Fortunoff’s size by introducing the brand at the upscale department store.
But exiting bankruptcy last year proved to be rockier than expected, as skittish vendors left Fortunoff’s stores inadequately stocked for months, sources said.
Battered by brutal price wars with department stores, the chain lost $42 million on sales of $260 million during the nine months ended Nov. 30, court records show.
As Fortunoff’s holiday sales dropped 10 percent, credit for merchandise deliveries dried up and the chain struggled to keep its jewelry cases and home-furnishings areas stocked with goods.
NRDC, which began an effort to unload Fortunoff in December, said the retailer faced a “severe liquidity crisis” last month.
Fortunoff’s flagship on 57th Street next door to Bergdorf Goodman – relocated last year from its longstanding Fifth Avenue location – has already been closed after months of lackluster business.
Founded in Brooklyn in 1922, Fortunoff is the latest of several US jewelry chains to be liquidated over the past year, including Whitehall Jewelers, Friedman’s and Crescent Jewelers.
Fortunoff currently operates about 20 stores in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. james.covert@nypost.com