Your favorite kids clothing store may be closing up shop soon.
Gymboree, which filed for bankruptcy protection in June, will shutter roughly 350 outlets across the U.S., the company announced Tuesday.
“This was a difficult decision to make, but we are confident that it is in the best long-term interest of our Company, our customers and our broader employee base,” CEO Daniel Griesemer said in a statement.
Affected stores will launch their closing sales next week, the company said.
As of April, the San Francisco-based company operated about 1,280 locations. It also owns the Janie and Jack and Crazy 8 brands, and has more than 11,000 employees, according to a filing. Most of the store closings will be Gymboree and Crazy 8 locations.
Gymboree isn’t the only retailer to cut its brick-and-mortar footprint as online shopping booms.
So far this year, 5,300 store closings have been announced, according to Fung Global Retail & Technology, a retail think tank.
Payless ShoeSource immediately closed nearly 400 stores when it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in April. Radioshack and Rue21, which also filed for bankruptcy this year, have closed hundreds more, while The Limited decided to nix physical storefronts altogether.
Even the biggest players are at risk.
Sears Holdings has said it plans to shut down more than 250 stores this year — about 20% of its locations.
