FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) — The children’s clothing store Gymboree will soon be closing four stores in Arkansas.
The chain is closing 350 stores nationwide as part of a court-supervised restructuring process. Gymboree filed for bankruptcy protection in June.
The four Arkansas Gymboree stores that are closing are at Northwest Arkansas Mall in Fayetteville, and then Park Plaza, Outlets of Little Rock and McCain Mall, all in Little Rock.
“This was a difficult decision to make, but we are confident that it is in the best long-term interest of our Company, our customers and our broader employee base,” CEO Daniel Griesemer said in a statement.
The stores that will be shutting down will begin their closing sales next week. You can check which stores are closing here.
As of April, the San Francisco-based company operated about 1,280 locations. It also owns the Janie and Jack and Crazy 8 brands, and has more than 11,000 employees, according to a filing. Most of the store closings will be Gymboree and Crazy 8 locations.
Gymboree isn’t the only retailer to cut its brick-and-mortar footprint as online shopping booms.
So far this year, 5,300 store closings have been announced, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology, a retail think tank.
Payless ShoeSource immediately closed nearly 400 stores when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April. Radioshack and Rue21, which also filed for bankruptcy this year, have closed hundreds more, while The Limited decided to nix physical storefronts altogether.
Even the biggest players are at risk.
Sears Holdings (SHLD) has said it plans to shut down more than 250 stores this year — about 20 percent of its locations.
