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U.S. Retailer Shuts 250 Stores to Move Online
Jan 10, 2017 10:42 AM
By Rapaport News
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RAPAPORT... Women’s apparel chain The Limited has closed all 250
stores and has moved all sales to its online platform, reflecting an increasingly challenging
environment for bricks-and-mortar retailers.
“We’re sad to say that all The Limited stores nationwide
have officially closed their doors,” the company, which counts jewelry among
its products, said in a notice to customers on its website. “But this isn’t
goodbye. The styles you love are still available online – we’re just a quick
click away, 24 hours a day.”
The move follows mixed holiday sales across the retail industry, characterized by declines at physical
stores but a jump in online shopping. National department-store chain Macy’s,
whose comparable sales dipped 2.1 percent in November and December, said it
will close 68 stores, laying off 10,100 staff.
Private-equity owner Sun Capital Partners is writing down The Limited's remaining equity value to zero, Reuters reported. Even so, the
buyout firm has made 1.8 times its $50 million investment in Limited Stores thanks
to prior distributions and dividends, the report said, citing an email to Sun
Capital’s investors. The group first took a majority stake in Limited Stores in
2007 and bought the rest of the business in 2010.
“We have worked very hard and made significant investments
over nine years in operations to create a sustainable business at The
Limited,” Reuters cited a Sun Capital statement as saying. “In an increasingly
challenging environment for mall-based retail and women's apparel, we are very
disappointed that the company has had to make the difficult decision to close
its retail locations.”
Sun Capital declined to comment further when contacted by Rapaport
News.
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Tags:
apparel, ecommerce, holiday sales, Macy’s, online retail, private equity, Rapaport News, retail, sun capital partners, The Limited
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