Christopher & Banks to close 100 stores over next three months

Minneapolis -- Christopher & Banks Corp. announced Friday that it will close about 100 underperforming stores over the next three months, as part of a restructuring plan that also includes format consolidations and workforce reductions.



The women’s apparel retailer said it plans to complete most of the store closings by the end of January 2012, and will accelerate plans to convert or consolidate a number of its existing Christopher & Banks and CJ Banks stores into dual-format stores.



The company also announced that it has implemented a previously announced workforce reduction involving its home office and field management organization.



“We anticipate that these initiatives will help us to both improve overall store productivity and support our return to profitability,” said Larry Barenbaum, president and CEO. RCS Real Estate Advisors, based in New York City, analyzed the store portfolio and assisted Christopher & Banks with the strategic decisions to cut stores.



The workforce reduction impacted 7% of the corporate headquarters employees, excluding the DC, and 13% of its store operations field management team. The retailer currently operates 761 stores in 45 states consisting of 472 Christopher & Banks stores, 238 CJ Banks plus-size stores, 28 dual-concept stores and 23 outlet stores.