Jos. A. Bank parent to close 250 stores

The parent of Jos. A. Bank Clothiers said Wednesday that it plans to close 250 stores, including nearly 150 Jos. A. Bank locations, amid rapidly falling sales.

Tailored Brands Inc., a holding company created by Men’s Wearhouse this year, made the announcement as it disclosed a huge fourth-quarter loss reflecting falling sales and the write-down of $1.15 billion of value related to the 2014 acquisition of Jos. A Bank, which was based in Hampstead.

Tailored Brands said it plans to close 80 to 90 underperforming Jos. A. Bank stores and all 49 Bank outlet stores. There are at least 13 Jos. A. Bank stores in the Baltimore region, and it has an outlet store at the Queenstown Outlets on the Eastern Shore.

Comparable sales at Bank stores fell 32 percent in the fourth quarter, Tailored Brands said.

“We remain very disappointed by the weak Jos. A. Bank results,” said Doug Ewert, Tailored Brands CEO, in a statement. “Our transition away from unsustainable promotions has proven significantly more difficult and expensive than we expected. We do, however, remain confident that Jos. A. Bank offers a longer-term opportunity to profitably grow market share in the menswear business.”

In addition to Jos. A. Bank and Men’s Wearhouse, the Fremont, Calif.-based retailer operates Moores and K&G stores. It also plans to close 100 to110 MWTux stores.

Due to the special charges, Tailored Brands lost $1.06 billion in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 30 on sales of $826 million. The loss amounts to $21.86 per share. Before the announcement was made, Tailored Brands shares closed at $16.34 each in New York Stock Exchange trading.