Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor owner files for bankruptcy protection, plans to close 1,600 stores

The parent company of Lane Bryant, Ann Taylor and the Justice tween brand has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a move spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic.

New Jersey-based Ascena Retail Group, which also operates Ann Taylor Loft, Catherines, Lou & Grey and Cacique, plans to "reduce their store fleet from approximately 2,800 stores to approximately 1,200 stores," the company said in court records Thursday. The planned closures are a 56% "reduction in the total store fleet."

In a news release Thursday, the company said it plans to shutter all of its Catherines plus-size stores as well as a "significant number of Justice stores and a select number of Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant and Lou & Grey stores."

Like other apparel retailers with a heavy commitment to shopping malls, Ascena was grappling with declining foot traffic long before the coronavirus pandemic. It joins a rapidly growing list of retailers that have stumbled into bankruptcy amid the wreckage of COVID-19, which temporarily shuttered non-essential stores due to health concerns.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/companies/lane-bryant-ann-taylor-owner-files-for-bankruptcy-protection-due-to-covid-19-plans-to-close-1600-stores/ar-BB176137?li=BBnb7Kz&ocid=DELLDHP