Closing time for The Limited stores

Apparel retailer The Limited is out of the brick-and-mortar retail business.



The ailing chain, which has quietly been closing stores around the country for the past couple of weeks, announced the news with a short statement on its website on Friday, Jan. 6. The move was not unexpected. Limited has struggled amid increased competition from fast-fashion upstarts, both offline and online.



“We’re sad to say that all The Limited stores nationwide have officially closed their doors,” the company stated. (According to several reports, however, some Limited stores were still open as of Friday but were due to close by the end of business on Sunday, Jan. 8)



The retailer, which has not filed for Chapter 11, also stated that it will continue to operate online. But the company gave no indication of whether it was a temporary move to sell off inventory or not.



The Limited, which is owned by Sun Capital Partners, has been laying off headquarters staff since the beginning of December.