Gymboree could file for bankruptcy this week, might close all stores: reports

Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Group is ready to file for bankruptcy protection, according to media reports. The proceedings would come less than two years after the company filed for Chapter 11 in June of 2017.

The Wall Street Journal was the first to report on Sunday that the company was once again contemplating bankruptcy. The newspaper added that the retailer was looking to shutter all 900 of its retail locations based on information provided by “people familiar with the matter.”

CNBC reported on Monday citing an anonymous source that the group was planning to close most of its 900 stores as part of the bankruptcy reorganization.

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According to its website, the group operates “hundreds” of retail locations in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico under the Gymboree, Janie and Jack and Crazy 8 brands. The company’s last publicly available quarterly financial report, dated March 2017, listed over 1,200 stores in the three countries, with 49 Gymboree stores in Canada.

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The retailer did not answer a request from Global News to indicate the number of stores it currently operates in Canada and comment on any bankruptcy proceedings which might affect its Canadian business.

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The news of Gymboree’s woes come as U.S. retail giant Sears Holdings Corp. is seeking options to avoid liquidation after obtaining bankruptcy protection in October. Sears Canada, which was granted protection from its creditors in June 2017, closed its few remaining stores on Jan. 14.

During its first bankruptcy, Gymboree closed around 375 stores and erased $900 million from its balance sheet. The debt was the result of a leveraged buyout by Bain Capital Partners in 2010, according to CNBC.

However, the company was still profitable when it entered creditor protection and had hopes to emerge from the proceedings “as a stronger organization,” then-CEO Daniel Griesemer said in a statement at the time.

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In December, the company, now under the leadership of CEO Shaz Kahng, announced a “comprehensive review of strategic options for its … brands, which may include a sale or other transactions at the brand level.”