San Francisco — Gap Inc. will close approximately 230 Gap specialty stores within the next 2 years, the San Francisco-based apparel chain announced in its fourth-quarter and 2018 fiscal year reports, released on February 28, 2019. Gap Inc. also revealed plans to spin off Old Navy, a brand it established in 1994, into a separate publicly traded entity, as well as to rebrand itself under a yet-to-be-determined name.
store closings
Topeka, Kan. — Payless ShoeSource will close all 2,100 of its stores in the United States and Puerto Rico as it moves toward liquidation. According to a statement by the company provided to USA Today, which first reported the news on Feb. 15, Payless expects all stores to remain open through March.
Mooresville, N.C. — Lowe’s Companies, Inc. will close all 99 of its Orchard Supply Hardware stores by February 1, 2019. Founded in San Jose, Calif., in 1931 and acquired by Lowe’s in 2013, Orchard Supply Hardware operates locations in California, Oregon and Florida. Lowe’s is closing the stores to focus on its core home improvement business.
Wayne, N.J. — Toys“R”Us, Inc. plans to close 182 Toys“R”Us stores in the U.S. as part of a company-wide reinvention of its brands. In addition, the Wayne, N.J.-based retailer will convert a number of locations into co-branded Toys“R”Us and Babies“R”Us stores.
Bentonville, Ark. — Sam’s Club, a division of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., will close 63 club locations across the country. The company will convert up to 12 of the impacted clubs into e-commerce fulfillment centers in efforts to speed delivery of online orders.
Houston — Citing struggles stemming from the rise of e-commerce, fashion retailer Charming Charlie has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. During the Chapter 11 process, which was filed on December 11, 2017, the Houston-based fashion retailer plans to restructure its debt while maintaining and operating a majority of its stores, as well as its online platform.