With about 95% of shops already closed due to the pandemic, the Children’s Place is preparing to close 300 of its shops in malls by the beginning of 2022. CEO Jane Elfers said the retailer’s mall-based portfolio will account for less than 25 per cent of its total revenue.
At the end of the second quarter of this year’s total of 200 closures, the company will close 100 outlets, and another 100 are expected to close at 2021. About half of the first set of closures will take place in the next month and a half, with most expected to open for liquidation sales for a brief period.
The company posted a decrease of 38 per cent in its net sales in the first quarter. The retailer has swung from $4.5 million in net profits a year earlier to a $114.8 million loss, with a gross loss of $19.7 million from last year’s gross profit of $152 million. That was a 990-point base downswing to 26.8 per cent of net sales, largely due to higher e-commerce fulfillment costs, along with closed-store fixed expenses.
