Apparel retailer Reitmans (Canada) Ltd. said it is urgently seeking fresh money after existing bank facilities were terminated or reduced and the COVID-19 pandemic hurt business.

“The company is actively seeking additional financing and is also exploring various alternatives,” the Montreal-based clothier said in a May 1 statement. “If the company is unable to obtain such financing in the limited time period required, it may be unable to continue as a going concern.”

The outbreak of the coronavirus is having “significant impacts” as it closed all of its stores March 17, the company said.

Reitmans was already in a weakened state before the virus. The company’s net loss for the quarter ending February 1 was $51.7 million compared with a net loss of $8.9 million in the same quarter a year earlier. Sales rose one per cent and gross profit declined.

The shares have lost 72 per cent this year and 92 per cent since the beginning of last year.

The results “have not met the company’s expectations. This is primarily due to the disappointing financial performance of the company’s plus-size banners,” the firm said in the statement. “Strategic brand changes implemented at the beginning of the fiscal year failed to resonate with the banners’ customer base.”