San Francisco — The Gymboree Corporation, following a comprehensive evaluation of its retail footprint, intends to close approximately 350 stores, mainly across the Gymboree and Crazy 8 brands. With the right size store base, the company will be able to focus resources on locations with the greatest potential and improve profitability.
“[The July 11, 2017] announcement represents the next step in the company’s court-supervised financial restructuring as we work to more strongly position the business for long term growth and success,” says Daniel Griesemer, president and CEO of Gymboree. “Right-sizing our store footprint is a central part of our efforts to ensure Gymboree emerges from this restructuring process as a stronger and more competitive organization, with greater financial flexibility to invest in our future. Importantly, we will continue to operate a majority of our stores and will continue to deliver quality merchandise and superior service to our customers at our Gymboree, Janie and Jack and Crazy 8 brands. 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.”
In order to ensure a seamless experience for customers, the company has partnered with Great American Group and Tiger Group to help manage the closing sales in its Gymboree, Gymboree Outlet and Crazy 8 stores. The closing sales at affected stores are scheduled to begin on July 18, 2017. For those interested in these sales, visit www.gymboreerestructuring.com.
Kirkland & Ellis LLP is serving as the company’s legal counsel, AlixPartners LLP is serving as its financial advisor, and Lazard is serving as its investment bank.
The Gymboree Corporation’s specialty retail brands offer unique, high-quality products delivered with personalized customer service. As of April 29, 2017, the company operated 1,281 retail stores: 582 Gymboree® stores, 172 Gymboree Outlet stores, 149 Janie and Jack® shops; and 378 Crazy 8® stores. For more information, visit www.gymboree.com, www.janieandjack.com, and www.crazy8.com.
SOURCE: The Gymboree Corporation