Lights out at Brooks Brothers on Greenwich Avenue
GREENWICH — The Brooks Brothers store in Greenwich is the latest casualty of the economic downturn hitting the retail sector during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Workers were removing fixtures from the store at 181 Greenwich Ave. last week, and for-lease signs were recently placed in the storefront windows.
The demise of the highend clothing retailer in
Greenwich followed recent closings of other locations in Darien and Westport, as the venerable clothier filed for bankruptcy protection in July. The outlet at the Stamford Town Center, which had been in operation since 1982 as one of the mall’s original stores, also closed this summer.
Brooks Brothers was founded in 1818 and bills itself as the oldest clothing retailer in the United States. Before the economic downturn, which put it hundreds of millions of dollars in the red, the apparel business had 200 stores in North America. Another 500 stores were operating in 45 countries around the world. In its bankruptcy filing, the retail chain said some 50 stores would be closed in the U.S.
The store on the Avenue opened in 2004. At the time, a company spokesman said, “It just seems natural that Brooks Brothers belongs in Greenwich.” The local store location underwent a major renovation in 2015.
The Brooks Brothers store on the Avenue has 12,000 square feet of retail space, which is now for lease.
Greenwich Avenue has been hit with a number of other high-profiles closures in recent weeks, such as Lillian August and Marmot, as the coronavirus pandemic has disrupted the local retail sector.
Changing consumer
trends have placed significant burdens on the retail clothing sector, and the major drop-off in spending as the coronavirus spread across the country spelled trouble for many legacy brands, including Neiman Marcus, J. Crew, Lord & Taylor and J.C. Penney, all of which filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
The Brooks Brothers fashion brand has been known for outfitting the executive class for decades,
clothing American presidents and epitomizing upscale preppy attire. In recent years, Brooks has partnered with a number of fashion-forward clothing designers to develop a more contemporary flair for younger customers.
The business had three factories in the U.S. that closed this summer as the company restructured. The company has been managed by Claudio Del Vecchio, an Italian entrepreneur who bought Brooks Brothers in 2001. Negotiations have been taking place this summer to save
the brand with a buyout from investors.
Based in New York City, Brooks Brothers represents one of the oldest U.S. retailers. It helped to popularize sartorial staples such as argyle socks, Harris tweeds and Shetland sweaters.
The clothing company employed 4,000 people before it furloughed about a third of its workers due to the pandemic.
A message left with company representatives was not returned this week.