New York & Co. to Shutter JasmineSola

New York City, New York & Co. said Thursday it will exit its underperforming JasmineSola business and take tax charges on the move.

The 23-store JasmineSola chain, which sells clothing and accessories aimed at young women, will close by the end of the fourth quarter.

New York & Co. will take tax charges of about $28 million to $30 million over the third and fourth quarters of fiscal 2007, including non-cash impairments of intangible assets and store-level property and equipment.

New York & Co. said the decision allows it to focus on future investments and its higher-return namesake brand.

The company said that it is considering converting existing JasmineSola locations to its New York & Co. concept and redeploy JasmineSola associates to positions in New York & Co.