NEW YORK — Your favorite kids clothing store may be closing up shop soon.
Gymboree, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June, will shutter roughly 350 outlets across the U.S., the company announced Tuesday.
“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 children’s apparel retail chain will close eight stores in Virginia, including four stores in the Richmond area.
Here is a list of those locations:
Gymboree
Virginia Center
10101 Brook Avenue,
#408
Glen Allen, VA
23059
804.261.2460
Gymboree
Regency Square
1404 Parham Road,
#K210
Richmond, VA
23229
804.740.0172
Gymboree
Chesterfield Towne Center
11500 Midlothian Turnpike, #K210
Richmond, VA
23235
804.378.7892
Gymboree
Stony Point Parkway
9200 Stony Point Pkwy,
Sp 142
Richmond, VA
23235
804.320.3380
Gymboree
Charlottesville Fashion Square
1560 Rio Road
Charlottesville, VA
22901
434.975.2251
Gymboree
Chesapeake Square
4200 Portsmouth Blvd,
Suite 76
Chesapeake, VA
23321
757.488.9070
Gymboree
MacArthur Center
300 Monticello Avenue,
#185
Norfolk, VA
23510
757.623.0900
Gymboree
Peninsula Town Center
2307 McMenamin Street,
Hampton, VA
23666
757.896.2292
Affected stores will launch their closing sales next week, the company said.
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 has said it plans to shut down more than 250 stores this year — about 20% of its locations.
