The Children’s Place permanently closing 300 stores

Kids clothing retailer The Children’s Place announced plans to close 300 stores over the next 20 months to “dramatically” reduce its brick-and-mortar portfolio.

The company said its store closings plan has “significantly increased” due to the coronavirus pandemic accelerating e-commerce demand, according to a conference call transcribed by The Motley Fool.

The Children’s Place stores will mostly be leaving malls, with about 200 stores closing this year and 100 in 2021. There are 18 The Children’s Place locations in New Jersey, but it is unknown if any will be impacted.

A Children’s Place spokesperson didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

Select stores that have been temporarily closed will hold liquidation sales, depending on inventory, while others will remain closed, the transcript said. The Children’s Place is currently holding an online summer sale with items up to 80% off.

The company’s total sales decreased by 38.1% compared to 2019 as a result of the temporary store closures, which began March 18, while e-commerce sales increased about 12%.

The Children’s Place announced in October that it acquired Gymboree after the former rival filed for bankruptcy and closed all stores in 2019. The Gymboree brand has since relaunched.

The brick-and-mortar retail industry already had been suffering, but the coronavirus has wreaked additional havoc on chains. Starbucks, Signet Jewelers, Nordstrom and JCPenney are among the companies that have recently announced store closures.

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Nicolette Accardi can be reached at naccardi@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter: @N_Accardi. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips