Between 2017 and 2019, sales stagnated at around $1 billion due to business fashion turning more casual and online competition. This strain is due in part to changing market tastes, although the COVID-19 pandemic is a contributing factor. In May 2020, it was reported that Brooks Brothers was seeking a buyer. Reports also suggest the company is exploring a bankruptcy filing. In June, the company proposed closing its three American factories, “a dramatic move for a brand that has really hung their hat on ‘Made in America.” Claudio Del Vecchio, the 63-year-old Italian industrialist responsible for acquiring the factory in Massachusetts, said that the U.S. factories never made any money and that the brand carries a debt of less than $300 million.