Gymboree is filing for bankruptcy protection for a second time in as many years, but this time the children's clothing retailer will begin winding down operations for good.
The San Francisco company said late Wednesday that it will close all of its Gymboree and Crazy 8 stores, and attempt sell its Janie and Jack business, intellectual property and online business.
"We are saddened and highly disappointed that we must move ahead with a wind-down of the Gymboree and Crazy 8 businesses. At the same time, we are focused on using this process to preserve the Janie and Jack business – a strong brand that is poised to grow – by pursuing a sale of the business as a going concern," Shaz Kahng, appointed in November 2018 as Gymboree Group CEO, said in a news release issued late Wednesday.Â
Gymboree, which began offering classes for mothers and their children in 1976, runs 380 Gymboree stores in the U.S. and Canada. When it first sought Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June 2017, it ran 1,300 stores.
The company has suffered in the post-recession years like almost all mall-based retail stores.
Gymboree was bought by the private equity firm Bain Capital for $1.8 billion in 2010 and taken private.
There are two local Gymboree locations: the Summit Mall in Reno, and Outlets at Legends in Sparks.Â
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
