Ascena Retail, owner of the Ann Taylor brand among others, has been “severely disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic”, according to Interim Executive Chair Carrie Teffner. As a result it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming one of a long list of retailers to do so following COVID-19’s impact on demand and sourcing. Panjiva’s data shows that U.S. seaborne imports linked to the firm already fell by 9.9% year over year in Q4’19 before dropping by 16.9% in Q1’20 and sliding by 46.4% in Q2. It has also had to tackle tariff-drive disruptio...