BANKRUPTCY: More Than He Could Chew

B. Altman and Bonwit Teller are not the sort of stores that stiff their suppliers. But since the spring, several fashion houses have withheld shipments to the swank Manhattan department stores because of late payments. The stores have been caught in the enormous debt problems of their current owner, Australia's Hooker Corp., which is controlled by investor George Herscu. Last week Hooker's U.S. holding company sought protection from its creditors under Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Herscu piled up debts of $1.4 billion building his trans-Pacific empire, then ran into trouble last year. Hooker, Australia's second largest home builder, has been hit by rising interest rates and sagging home sales in Australia, as well as lukewarm retail sales in the U.S. Herscu is now trying to sell off $750 million in assets, from Manhattan to Melbourne. Altman and Bonwit, meanwhile, are hoping to satisfy their creditors in time to sell some fall fashions.