» Gymboree closings:
Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Corp. plans to close 350 stores, including three in Wisconsin, as it restructures in bankruptcy.
Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Corp. plans to close 350 stores, including three in Wisconsin, as it restructures in bankruptcy, the company said Tuesday.
Gymboree, which is based in San Francisco, announced that its stores at Bayshore Town Center in Glendale, Regency Mall in Racine and the Outlet Shoppes at Oshkosh are slated for closing.
Closing sales are scheduled to begin Tuesday.
Gymboree also operates Crazy 8 stores, but none of its Wisconsin locations were listed among those to be shut down. It also operates Janie and Jack stores. The company will have more than 900 locations after the stores are shut down.
Gymboree, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June, said that with a “right size store base,” the company would be able to focus resources on locations with the greatest potential and improve the profitability of the overall business.
“Today’s announcement represents the next step in the Company’s court-supervised financial restructuring as we work to more strongly position the business for long-term growth and success,” Daniel Griesemer, president and chief executive of Gymboree, said in a statement. “Right-sizing our store footprint is a central part of our efforts to ensure Gymboree emerges from this restructuring process as a stronger and more competitive organization, with greater financial flexibility to invest in our future. Importantly, we will continue to operate a majority of our stores and will continue to deliver quality merchandise and superior service to our customers at our Gymboree, Janie and Jack and Crazy 8 brands.”
Southridge Mall in Greendale, Brookfield Square, Johnson Creek Outlet Mall and Pleasant Prairie Premium Outlets are listed as Gymboree brand store locations on its website. There are Crazy 8 stores at Mayfair mall in Wauwatosa, Southridge and Brookfield Square.
Gymboree joins a growing list of retailers to announce the closing of some stores as mall traffic declines and competition from online retailers such as Amazon intensifies.