By Karen Welch — Senior Content Producer
Gymboree Corp. has announced it will close 350 stores, including the Gymboree in Amarillo.
Liquidation sales will begin Tuesday for stores on the closure list, according to a company news release. The list contains 12 stores across Texas, including stores at Amarillo's Westgate Mall and Lubbock's South Plains Mall. Liquidation sales are set to begin next Tuesday.
Gymboree Corp. is undergoing a court-supervised financial restructuring. It filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday.
The 350 stores set to close are a mix of Gymboree and Crazy 8 Branded stores. Gymboree has operated a stable of nearly 1,300 Gymboree, Crazy 8 and Janie and Jack stores in all, including stores in Puerto Rico and Canada. It also sells online.
"This was a difficult decision to make, but we are confident that it is in the best log-term interest of our company, our customers and our broader employee base," said Daniel Griesemer, President and CEO of Gymboree.
The retailer announced that it has signed an agreement a majority of its term loan lenders, "securing critical stakeholder support for a comprehensive financial restructuring and recapitalization of the Company that will reduce Gymboree’s debt by more than $900 million, establish a sustainable capital structure and position the Company for long-term success," a news release said.
The company's net sales for the second quarter 2017 dropped to $356.8 milllion, compared to fourth quarter 2015 results, according to an earnings statement the Gymboree issued in March. It posted a second-quarter 2017 net loss of $324.9 million.
“The steps we are taking today allow the Company to definitively address its debt and enable the management team to turn its full focus toward executing our key strategies, including our Product, Brand and Omni-channel initiatives,” Griesemer said in the release. “The support of our lenders and their new financing commitment underscores their confidence in the Company.”
Karen Welch is a senior content producer for Panhandle PBS. She can be contacted at Karen.Welch@actx.edu, at @KWelch806 on Twitter and at www.facebook.com/karensmithwelch on Facebook.
