100 Florida retail jobs in jeopardy as Salt Life stores hit auction block

The parent company of lifestyle clothing brand Salt Life, in a letter posted to a Florida job-cuts database, says if a proposed sale does not go through, it could shutter the brand's 16 Florida locations, including Sarasota, Estero and Lutz.

Delta Apparel, based in Duluth, Georgia, filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy June 30 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company that owns Salt Life and a handful of other subsidiaries is declaring bankruptcy after a "combination of reduced demand and difficulties obtaining raw materials have resulted in declining liquidity that Delta’s Board has been unable to counteract,” according to court filings. 

In particular, the company notes the surging prices of cotton in 2022 as a challenge that resulted in increased costs and declining liquidity.