Limited chain to shutter all its stores
Retailer will still operate online only; Cottonwood shop to close on Sunday
WASHINGTON — More grim news for malls came Friday as apparel retailer The Limited said it will close all its brick-and-mortar stores at the end of this weekend.
The company says it will continue to operate online-only after the closures this Sunday. A spokesman said the New Albany, Ohio-based chain operated about 250 retail stores in 2016 and that about 4,000 jobs, including seasonal and temporary ones, would be lost.
The Limited has a store at Cottonwood Mall, which learned earlier this week it would also be losing anchor tenant Macy’s.
Macy’s announced this week it was moving forward with plans to close 68 retail stores, including the Cottonwood location, and would cut more than 10,000 jobs.
Sears also announced Thursday that it would close another 150 stores as clothing retailers continue to struggle to compete as consumers increasingly buy online. Among the casualties in that round of closings was the chain’s Roswell location. Sears downsized its Coronado Center store in Albuquerque last year.
Limited Stores, founded in 1963, says it has already ceased operations at several stores in recent weeks and would be offering “highly discounted prices” on merchandise until all its doors close for good Sunday.
Private equity firm Sun Capital Partners purchased The Limited outright in 2010 after owning a majority stake in the retailer since 2007.