Posted Aug 14, 2008, 10:35 PM
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Join Date: Oct 2007
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[SA] Mervyn's Closing Stores
Quote:
Department store chain Mervyn's LLC said Thursday that it will close 26 of its 176 stores throughout the country — including the chain’s three stores in San Antonio.
The closings are part of a larger plan by the firm to “emerge from bankruptcy as a stronger company,” says John Goodman, CEO of Mervyn's.
In San Antonio, Mervyn's has a presence at North Star Mall in North Central San Antonio, Ingram Park Mall on the Northwest Side and South Park Mall in South San Antonio.
The 26 stores — all of which have been defined as “under-performing operations” by Mervyn's officials — are set to close by late October or early November of this year.
Liquidation sales of the inventory at the soon-to-be-shuttered stores are to be handled by an outside firm, Mervyn's officials add.
As for the employees to be affected by the closures, Goodman says, that his company is “committed to treating those associates ... fairly, and (we) will seek to provide them with appropriate assistance to make this transition as smooth as possible.”
Mervyn's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on July 29, 2008 — stating at that time plans to keep its stores open during the reorganization.
“Mervyn's needs to reorganize its finances and operations due to the state of the economy and difficult operating environment for our industry,” Goodman noted in that announcement.
“The company’s management board determined that a Chapter 11 filing was a necessary and prudent step that allows us to operate our business without interruption as we seek to restructure our debt and other obligations ... ,” he added.
Also on July 29, Mervyn's announced that it had received a $465 million debtor-in-possession facility from a lender group led by Wachovia Capital Finance Corp. The financing was approved on July 31.
Hayward, Calif.-based Mervyn's was created in 2004 after the retail chain was sold off to a consortium of investors led by Boca Raton, Fla.-based Sun Capital Partners Inc. Minneapolis-based Target Corp. (NYSE: TGT) was the seller.
Mervyn's founder Mervin Morris opened the first retail store in San Lorenzo, Calif. in 1949.
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