NEW YORK, Oct. 26, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Pomerantz LLP announces that a class action lawsuit has been filed against J. Jill, Inc. (“J. Jill” or the “Company”) (NYSE: JILL ) and certain of its officers. The class action, filed in United Stated States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, and docketed under 17-cv-12098, is on behalf of a class consisting of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired J. Jill securities pursuant and/or traceable to J. Jill’s false and misleading Registration Statement and Prospectus, issued in connection with the Company’s initial public offering on or about March 9, 2017 (the “IPO” or the “Offering), seeking to recover damages caused by Defendants’ violations of the Securities Act of 1933 (the “Securities Act”).
If you are a shareholder who purchased J. Jill securities pursuant and/or traceable to the Company’s IPO, you have until December 12, 2017, to ask the Court to appoint you as Lead Plaintiff for the class. A copy of the Complaint can be obtained at www.pomerantzlaw.com . To discuss this action, contact Robert S. Willoughby at rswilloughby@pomlaw.com or 888.476.6529 (or 888.4-POMLAW), toll-free, Ext. 9980. Those who inquire by e-mail are encouraged to include their mailing address, telephone number, and the number of shares purchased.
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J. Jill is a specialty apparel brand focused on affluent women in the 40-to-65 age segments. It employs an “omni-channel” sale and marketing platform, whereby it sells its products through a variety of sales channels, including brick-and-mortar retail stores, a sales catalog and the Company’s website.
In connection with the IPO, Defendants marketed J. Jill as insulated from adverse trends impacting the larger retail sector. For example, the Registration Statement, which incorporated the Prospectus, for the Company’s IPO (the “Registration Statement”) stated that the Company’s “customer-focused strategy, foundational investments and data insights have resulted in consistent, profitable growth” and would “continue to drive profitable sales growth over time.”
The Registration Statement was negligently prepared and as a result contained untrue statements of material fact, omitted material facts necessary to make the statements contained therein not misleading, and failed to make adequate disclosures required under the rules and regulations governing its preparation.
The Complaint alleges that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements regarding the Company’s business, operational and compliance policies. Specifically, Defendants made false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) J. Jill’s purportedly unique and superior sales and marketing approach had not insulated the Company from adverse trends affecting the overall retail industry; (ii) J. Jill’s historic gross margin growth was not sustainable and would not continue, as it relied on revenues from shipping fees, increased promotional efforts and other short-term boosts to revenues; (iii) the Company was carrying increasing amounts of slow moving inventory and would need to significantly markdown sales items and increase promotional efforts in an attempt to continue its sales growth; (iv) the Company’s brick-and-mortar stores were failing, as they were experiencing difficulty attracting customers and maintaining profitability, which would result in the Company shuttering up to eight stores in fiscal 2017, with the rate of store closures accelerating; (v) J. Jill’s business, prospects and ability to service its long-term debt had been materially impaired; and (vi) as a result of the foregoing, J. Jill’s public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.
On October 11, 2017, J. Jill disclosed a downgraded guidance for Q3 2017 relating to total company comparable sales and gross margin.
Following this news, J. Jill stock closed at $4.86 per share. This price represented a greater than 62% decline from the price at which J. Jill stock had been sold to the investing public only seven months earlier.
The Pomerantz Firm, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Paris, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, the Pomerantz Firm pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 80 years later, the Pomerantz Firm continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomerantzlaw.com .
CONTACT: Robert S. Willoughby Pomerantz LLP rswilloughby@pomlaw.com
