Boating and fishing retailer West Marine, as expected, filed for bankruptcy protection after years of mounting pressure from high leasing costs that executives said drained cash and blocked recovery efforts.

West Marine said in a statement it has entered into a restructuring support agreement with the support of its key financial stakeholders — including 96.2 percent of its term loan lenders, 100 percent of its FILO lenders and 93.9 percent of its equity holders — to pursue a comprehensive restructuring transaction that will allow it to “deliver its capital structure while maximizing value and ensuring continued service to the boating community.”

The filing at the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware listed both estimated assets and estimated liabilities in the range of $500 million to $1 billion.

The company retained Hilco Real Estate to analyze potential lease savings and wind down any stores not part of the company’s go-forward store footprint as it sees to renegotiate leases. West Marine’s 200 retail locations will remain open during the restructuring, according to the statement.

“West Marine has been a trusted partner to the boating community for decades, and we remain deeply committed to that mission,” CEO Paulee Day said in the statement. “The actions we are taking today will allow us to optimize our operations and rationalize our footprint, so that we can focus on continuing to serve our customers and community well into the future. I thank our dedicated Crew Members, our loyal customers and partners, and our financial partners for their continued support.”

In late April, Bloomberg reported that West Marine was exploring financial options, including a possible bankruptcy, with its owners Oaktree Capital Management and L Catterton as sought to overhaul its debt in conjunction with a business shift aimed at addressing its leases.

Heavy Lease Burdens Weigh On Liquidity
In an affidavit filed in bankruptcy court, Day said the retailer’s lease obligations were the core driver of the bankruptcy. She noted that all of its stores across more than 34 states and Puerto Rico are leased rather than owned, causing the company to face annual lease expenses exceeding $50 million.

Day stated, “Many of the debtors’ stores are burdened by undesirable locations, onerous lease terms negotiated during more favorable economic conditions, and limited flexibility for early termination, leaving the debtors with little ability to right-size their portfolio outside of a court-supervised process. The fixed costs associated with maintaining this excess retail presence—including rent, utilities, and allocated overhead—have consistently consumed a disproportionate share of the debtors’ operating cash flow, eroding margins and preventing the business from investing in the operational improvements necessary to restore long-term profitability.”

She said West Marine’s “expansive real estate footprint and long-term lease obligations” depleted liquidity and “proved an insurmountable obstacle” outside of a court-led restructuring. In total, the company carries about $166.7 million in future lease obligations, alongside $119.9 million in unpaid trade and lease liabilities as of the filing date.

The chain also expanded aggressively over decades, a strategy that paid off during the pandemic-era boating boom. However, the retailer has since been pressured by inflation, supply chain disruption and a pullback in discretionary spending, leaving a large, fixed cost store network exposed when demand cooled.

Day stated, “Several factors have contributed to the lingering decline in both retail and e-commerce sales post-COVID-19, including economic uncertainty and inflation, reduced consumer confidence, and changing spending priorities. The combination of economic uncertainty and reduced consumer confidence has resulted in consumers prioritizing essential expenses and adopting a more cautious approach to non-essential purchases. This led to less demand for the boating accessories and lifestyle recreation products that the company sells.”

She noted that in 2025, retail sales for new powerboat units at West Marine were down approximately 8 percent to 10 percent on average.

She added that during the boating boom of the pandemic, a significant number of boating consumers invested in discretionary boating accessories and recreational equipment, but demand for these categories of products has declined as these same customers now typically only purchase maintenance-level boat supplies.

Weather disruptions also shortened key boating seasons in 2024 and 2025, further reducing store traffic.

In addition to declines in consumer discretionary spending and weather disruptions, the boating, marine, and outdoor recreation sector “more generally continues to struggle in 2026,” due to “significantly elevated diesel prices, inflationary conditions, and global supply chain hardships,” leading the retailer to undergo a recapitalization in 2023.

Tariffs have further “significantly affected: West Marine’s business. Day wrote, “The imposition of reciprocal tariffs, despite some recent easing, has further increased the cost of imported goods across a broad range of countries. Like many retail businesses, the volatile tariff environment has compressed margins and created a challenging and uncertain operating environment for the debtors.”

Day also noted that the retailer has continued to struggle with elevated inventory levels due in part to inefficiencies at the company’s largest distribution center but also to overbuying connected to the pandemic-era demand surge. Day wrote, “As consumer discretionary spending has continued to contract, the company is sitting on excess inventory that it cannot simply sell through, eroding profitability and putting additional strain on an already challenging financial position.”

She added that although West Marine had “some success” in improving operations at its distribution centers following the 2023 recapitalization, “macroeconomic issues continued to hinder the company’s ability to rebound. As a result, the company’s attempts to address these operational issues were not enough to overcome the macroeconomic volatility and its overleveraged balance sheet.”

In 2023, West Marine restructured roughly $800 million of existing debt through out-of-court proceedings supported by L Catterton. The process included $125 million in new capital from L Catterton as well as a group of existing lenders, alongside the conversion of roughly $660 million of debt into equity warrants. As part of the restructuring, L Catterton provided roughly two-thirds of the new money and agreed to subordinate its own borrowings in the repayment hierarchy to provide fresh capital to the retailer while retaining control of the business. L Catterton, a consumer-focused private equity firm, acquired a controlling interest in West Marine from Monomoy Capital Partners in April 2021. Oaktree established joint control of West Marine as part of the 2023 debt restructuring.

The Chapter 11 filing provides tools to renegotiate leases, shed underperforming locations and rightsize the store footprint, the company said. The restructuring could include store closures, lease renegotiations and potential asset sales as the company seeks a sustainable cost structure.

Top 30 Unsecured Creditors List
The list of the top 30 unsecured creditors in the case were led by Garmin International, Inc., which was owed $8.57 million; followed in the top five by Virtual Supply, Inc.,  a distribution logistics company, with an unpaid bill of $5.78 million;  components and accessories manufacturer  Sierra International, Inc., owed $4.65 million; tackle producer East Penn Manufacturing Co., Inc., $4.43 million; and marine-coatings provider Modern Recreational Technologies, Inc., $4.23 million. Facility Solutions Group, Inc., which offers commercial electrical and lighting systems and is described as a contract counterparty in the bankruptcy case, is owed $4.13 million.

Trade vendors holding unsecured claims between $1 million and $4 million include Lippert Components Manufacturing, Inc., $3.58 million; Lumitec, LLC, $2.18 million; Pure Fishing, Inc., $2.11 million; 3M Company, $2.0 million; Akzo Nobel Inc., $1.91 million; ACR Electronics, Inc., $1.9 million; Raymarine, Inc., $1.9 million; New Nautical Coatings, Inc., $1.7 million; Gross Mechanical Laboratories, Inc., $1.55 million; Pan Jack Industrial Co., Ltd., $1.36 million; Xylem Inc., $1.35 million; Seaflo Marine & Rv North America LLC, $1.27 million; Kent Water Sports, LLC, $1.17 million; and Rocky Brands US, LLC, $1.08 million.

Trade vendors with unpaid bills among the top-30 unsecured creditors under a million include CMP Group Ltd,, $969,672; Navico, Inc., $931,848; Luxottica Of America Inc., $910,175; Magma Products, LLC, $836,260; Yaesu  USA, Inc., $834,124; Star Brite, Inc., $788,403; Pentair Flow Technologies, LLC, $761,138; Pentair Flow Technologies, LLC, $761,138; Enersys Energy Products Inc., $745,254; Pelagic Inc., $741,465; and Teufelberger Fiber Rope Corp., $697,082.

First-Day Motions
West Marine filed customary first-day motions with the Bankruptcy Court seeking authority to continue operations without disruption, including continuing to pay employee wages and benefits and to maintain its customer programs.

To fund operations throughout the Chapter 11 process, West Marine reached an agreement with its secured lenders to consensually use its cash collateral, providing it with sufficient liquidity to meet its obligations to customers, employees and vendors. They have also committed to providing the company with new financing in support of its exit from Chapter 11.

West Marine is being advised by Kirkland & Ellis, LLP and Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP as co-counsel, Portage Point Partners as investment banker, FTI Consulting as restructuring and communications advisor, and Hilco Global as real estate advisor.

Image courtesy West Marine