Kids’ clothing retailer Gymboree will close about 350 stores, including 16 in Illinois, after filing for bankruptcy last month.
Closing sales are expected to begin Tuesday, the San Francisco-based company said. Most of the closures are at the company’s Gymboree and Crazy 8 brands.
Fox Valley Mall in Aurora and Algonquin Commons are losing both Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores.
The company also is closing Gymboree stores in Bolingbrook, Vernon Hills, West Dundee, Bloomingdale, Springfield, Champaign, Peoria and Fairview Heights.
A Gymboree outlet store in Tuscola and Crazy 8 stores in Lombard, North Riverside and Lincolnwood also are slated to close.
“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,” Daniel Griesemer, Gymboree’s president and CEO, said in a news release.
When filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last month, Gymboree said it planned to continue operating the majority of its stores while restructuring and cutting its debt by more than $900 million.
As of April 29, the company had about 1,281 stores across its Gymboree, Gymboree Outlet, Janie and Jack, and Crazy 8 brands. The company sold Gymboree Play & Music, a chain of play centers for young children, to a Singapore-based investment group in 2016.
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