It’s over for Mervyns.
The Hayward retailer said Friday that it would close its remaining 149 locations. The stores will remain open through the holiday season with liquidation sales. Mervyns previously planned to close 26 underperforming locations.
The 59-year old chain, with a California-heavy store base, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection at the end of July, but proved unable to gain any traction on its turnaround efforts. The company had struggled in recent years, squeezed at the bottom by retailers like Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) and out-performed by its mid-tier competitors like Kohl’s and J.C. Penney (NYSE: JCP).
The economic downturn and housing crisis further hurt Mervyns since many of its California stores were in hard-hit areas.
In April, John Goodman, formerly president and general manager of Levi’s Dockers brand, joined Mervyns as CEO but proved unable to turn the tide.
“We are disappointed with this outcome, but the company’s declining liquidity position and the extremely challenging retail environment, together with the fact that we’ve exhausted all other possibilities, requires that we take this action,” Goodman said in a statement.
An ownership group led by Cerberus Capital Management and Sun Capital Management purchased Mervyns from Target (NYSE: TGT) in 2004 for $1.2 billion.
Source: http://www.bizjournals.com/sanfrancisco/stories/2008/10/13/daily62.html
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Linens ‘n Things to close stores
Linens ‘n Things will close all 317 of its remaining stores in 48 states, including nearly a dozen throughout Washington, after finishing…
By Amy Martinez
Seattle Times business reporter
Linens ‘n Things will close all 317 of its remaining stores in 48 states, including nearly a dozen throughout Washington, after finishing going-out-of-business sales.
The bankrupt New Jersey-based retailer was unable to find a buyer willing to take over the locations as a going concern. It already has closed 218 stores this year.
Linens ‘n Things’ Web site lists 11 Washington state locations, including Federal Way’s SeaTac Village and Lynnwood’s Alderwood shopping area.
The closing sales began today, promising discounts of up to 30 percent.
Amy Martinez: 206-464-2923 or amartinez@seattletimes.com
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