Ascena, like other retailers, found its revenues dragged down by debt and weak sales for years, according to the Associated Press.
As part of its bankruptcy plan, the company said that it would close all of its Catherines stores, a “significant number” of Justice stores and a select number of Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico.
The Justice closings include the Bridgewater Falls location at 3425 Princeton Road in Fairfield Twp. which opened in 2006, plus four other Greater Cincinnati locations and five Greater Dayton locations. An associate at the Bridgewater Falls location said it would continue to operate until all its stock is sold. The store is offering discounts of up to 50 percent off all items.
Closing in Warren County will be an Ann Taylor Factory Store located at 885 Premium Outlets Drive inside Monroe’s Cincinnati Premium Outlets. That location will offer 75 percent off products there until the store’s inventory can be liquidated, an Ann Taylor associate told this outlet.
The shutdown of all Catherines locations includes ones at 469 E. Kemper Road in Hamilton County’s Springdale, plus two Dayton area locations and one in Lima.
No Lane Bryant stores in the Greater Cincinnati area are set to close.
Ascena said it has reached an agreement with its creditors to reduce its debt by $1 billion. It received $150 million in new financing to continue operating during its reorganization. The group joins a growing list of mostly clothing retailers that have filed for Chapter 11 in recent weeks, including Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney, J.Crew and Stage Stores. These retailers were already struggling with sluggish sales, but the forced closure of non-essential stores in mid-March to reduce the spread of the coronavirus put them in further jeopardy.
Ascena Retail Group is operating with approximately 95 percent of its store base reopened and continues to serve customers in those stores and through its e-commerce brand websites, the company said in a release. It said it would “continue to prioritize the safety and well-being” of its associates and customers as it continues to monitor the impact of COVID-19.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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