Report: Children’s clothing retailer to reorganize
Gymboree Corp. is planning a significant reduction in its store fleet.
The retailer is looking to close hundreds of stores part of a restructuring under bankruptcy court protection, The Wall Street Journal reported. The final number of stores, however, has yet to be determined.
Citing unnamed sources, the report said Gymboree was likely to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the coming week. The retailer is struggling with declining sales, and reported a 5% decrease in same-store sales for its most recent (second) quarter. It has posted losses for the last several years amid increased competition from online and discounters.
Gymboree also has a heavy debt load resulting from Bain Capital’s leveraged buyout of the company back in 2010. According to the report, Gymboree has a $1.04 billion debt that will mature in 12 to 22 months, of which $871.9 million is due in under a year. In March, the company warned it was short on cash and stated it was in talks with lenders to refinance at least a portion of its debt to sustain liquidity.
As of January 28, 2017, Gymboree operated a total of 1,291 retail stores, with 586 namesake stores (536 in the United States, 49 in Canada and one in Puerto Rico), 174 Gymboree Outlet stores (173 in the United States and 1 in Puerto Rico), 149 Janie and Jack shops (148 in the United States and 1 in Puerto Rico), and 382 Crazy stores in the United States.
The retailer is looking to close hundreds of stores part of a restructuring under bankruptcy court protection, The Wall Street Journal reported. The final number of stores, however, has yet to be determined.
Citing unnamed sources, the report said Gymboree was likely to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the coming week. The retailer is struggling with declining sales, and reported a 5% decrease in same-store sales for its most recent (second) quarter. It has posted losses for the last several years amid increased competition from online and discounters.
Gymboree also has a heavy debt load resulting from Bain Capital’s leveraged buyout of the company back in 2010. According to the report, Gymboree has a $1.04 billion debt that will mature in 12 to 22 months, of which $871.9 million is due in under a year. In March, the company warned it was short on cash and stated it was in talks with lenders to refinance at least a portion of its debt to sustain liquidity.
As of January 28, 2017, Gymboree operated a total of 1,291 retail stores, with 586 namesake stores (536 in the United States, 49 in Canada and one in Puerto Rico), 174 Gymboree Outlet stores (173 in the United States and 1 in Puerto Rico), 149 Janie and Jack shops (148 in the United States and 1 in Puerto Rico), and 382 Crazy stores in the United States.