Between sudden growth spurts and tantrums over trying on outfits, buying clothes for kids isn’t always easy—and it’s about to get a whole lot harder, now that a beloved children’s clothing brand may be closing a store near you. On Nov. 19, The Children’s Place announced in a statement that it would be closing 100 stores in 2021. Read on to learn about the fate of this beloved store, and for more bad retails news to be aware of, check out This Legendary Store Just Announced It's Filing for Bankruptcy.
The announcement follows The Children's Place's decision to shutter 118 stores between Jan. and Sept. 2020, with a plan to close a total of 200 stores by the end of the year. Representatives for The Children’s Place admitted that the brick-and-mortar closures are a direct result of falling sales due to the pandemic. As of Oct. 31, 2020, the brand had seen its net sales shrink by 22.7 percent compared to the year prior “primarily as a result of a decrease in back-to-school sales due to schools adopting remote and hybrid learning models, along with the impact of permanent and temporary store closures.”
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The Children’s Place is far from the only retailer to be hit hard by the pandemic, however. Read on to discover which other stores are closing up shop. And for more retail closure news, check out This Beloved Gym Chain Just Filed For Bankruptcy.
Read the original article on Best Life.
1 | Francesca’s
JHVEPhoto / ShutterstockFrancesca’s, a popular clothing store catering to trendy teens and 20-somethings, announced in November that it would be closing 140 of its brick-and-mortar locations. After seeing sales fall by 29 percent in the second quarter of 2020, the company stated that it would “take aggressive and prudent actions to reduce expense and manage cash flows." While many of the company’s stores will stay open, representatives for Francesca's said in a statement that bankruptcy was still on the table if the brand’s financial prospects didn’t improve. And for more stores that aren’t long for this world, This Iconic Sporting Goods Company Is Closing Stores Nationwide.
2 | Justice
Shutterstock/Trong NguyenIn November, beloved tween store Justice announced that all of its stores will be closing. As of August, Justice’s parent company, Ascena Retail Group, Inc., had closed 600 of the brand’s 800 U.S. stores, announcing plans for the business to shift to a primarily online model. However, by early November, Ascena announced that the chain’s remaining stores will be closed by early 2021 and that it was being sold off to Bluestar Alliance. And for more stores closing up shop, This Beloved Furniture Store Has Just Filed for Bankruptcy.
3 | Planet Blue
iStockPlanet Blue, a clothing store known for its celebrity clientele in the early 2000s, is shutting down all of its brick-and-mortar stores. “We have made the difficult decision to close our store locations in the upcoming weeks. This decision is made even more difficult by the loss of excellent and loyal employees and customers,” the company said in a statement. The brand is currently in the midst of a massive going out of business sale, offering up to 70 percent off merchandise. And for more store closure news delivered straight to your inbox, sign up for our daily newsletter.
4 | Carter’s and OshKosh B’Gosh
Shutterstock/JHVEPhotoChildren’s clothing company Carter’s, which also owns the OshKosh B’Gosh brand, announced in October that it would be shutting approximately 35 percent of its stores, or 200-plus locations in total. Carter’s CEO and chairman Michael Casey announced that 60 percent of the affected stores would close by the end of 2020, with 80 percent shuttered by the end of 2022. And for another jarring retail report, check out These Two Toilet Paper Companies Just Filed For Bankruptcy.
