Christmas Tree Shops Files For Bankruptcy: What It Means For CT Stores

CONNECTICUT —After filing for bankruptcy on Friday, Christmas Tree Shops released a statement indicating it sought court permission to close 10 underperforming stores across seven states.

Connecticut is not one of those states, and the operations of CTS stores in Waterford, Danbury, Manchester and Orange appear safe for now.

The statement issued Monday by the 82-store chain said it would attempt to minimize layoffs by offering employees in the shuttering stores positions where there is a geographical match.

According to bankruptcy court documents, states with affected stores include Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, New York, Florida, Virginia, Michigan, and Georgia.

“It will be business-as-usual while we work to complete our financial restructuring. Our customers will see no disruption in service or product quality, we will continue to honor all gift cards and our suppliers can expect timely payments.” said Christmas Tree Shops chairman Marc Salkovitz.

The company was founded as a small boutique on Cape Cod more than 50 years ago, and opened its first big box store in 1977 in Hyannis.

The chain was taken private two and half years ago by Handil Holdings for an undisclosed amount from Bed Bath & Beyond, which purchased the company in 2003 from the Bilezikian family, the founders. Handil Holdings rebranded the chain as CTS, to emphasize the store was more than just Christmas items.

CTS said it plans to complete its financial restructuring before the end of August, and emerge from Chapter 11 a "financially stronger retailer."