Another National Retailer Closing 5 CT Locations

Only a month after filing for bankruptcy, the women's clothing company Charlotte Russe, which has five stores in Connecticut, has decided to shutter all of its stores. The company’s intellectual property and rights to its leases will be sold separately.

More than 400 stores are closing nationwide and going-out-of-business sales will begin immediately, according to liquidator SB360 Capital Partners LLC. About $160 million in Inventory will be sold through the Charlotte Russe stores. And savvy buyers could see deeply discounted prices on products including tops, bottoms, jeans, jackets, dresses, shoes and accessories. Those with a gift card must use them by March 21.

“Charlotte Russe established itself over the last four decades as a fashion destination for young women,” said Aaron Miller, executive vice president of SB360. “A sale of this magnitude will bring never-seen-before values to a broad selection of today’s best fashion trends.”

Here are the Charlotte Russe stores in CT:

• Danbury Fair, 7 Backus Avenue Space #B202 in Danbury
• Buckland Hills, The Shoppes at 194 Buckland Hills Drive, Suite 2088 in Manchester
• Stamford Town Center in 100 Greyrock Place, Sp# E125 in Stamford
• Trumbull, 5065 Main St., Space #220 in Trumbull
• Brass Mill in 495 Union St. Space 2062 & 2064 in Waterbury

The company, which was founded in 1975, told media outlets in a statement Wednesday it is partnering with a buyer who has expressed interest in keeping physical “brick and mortar” stores.

A federal bankruptcy judge in Delaware signed off on a deal to sell the company’s assets to a liquidator, media outlets reported. Charlotte Russe says liquidation sales begin Thursday and all sales are final. The online store has been closed.

The latest announcement comes after the retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early February. Charlotte Russe has about 500 stores across the U.S. (To sign up for free, local breaking news alerts from more than 100 Connecticut communities, click here.)

The company also controls Peek, a children’s clothing store. Charlotte Russe is just the latest major retailer to fall in the industry, following major closure announcements by Sears and children's clothing retailer Gymboree, as retail stores face increasing pressure from e-commerce giant Amazon.

This news comes a day after Family Dollar, which has 20 stores in Connecticut, says it will close as many as 390 stores and add adult beverages and other changes to some remaining locations.

Kayleigh Painter, a spokeswoman for the company, confirmed the closures in an email to Patch, but said the company isn’t releasing the full list of stores that “will, or may, close.”

Family Dollar sells bargain goods including household cleaners, foods, health and beauty products, toys and clothes. Most items in the stores can be bought for less than $10. But the retailer has struggled in recent years and was bought by Dollar Tree in 2015. The chain of bargain brands has faced pressure to sell or revamp operations, CNN reported.

About 200 stores will be rebranded, media outlets reported. Dollar Tree operates 15,237 stores across 48 states and five Canadian provinces, the company said in a release. Stores operate under the brands of Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and Dollar TreeCanada.

The news comes as Gary Philbin, Dollar Tree’s CEO and president, said Wednesday that Family Dollar had delivered its “strongest quarterly same-store sales growth of the year,” in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2018. Dollar Tree moved “aggressively” to “optimize” Family Dollar’s performance,” Philbin said. That included closing 84 stores and announcing plans to renovate at least 1,000 others in 2019.

“We are confident we are taking the appropriate steps to reposition our Family Dollar brand for increasing profitability as business initiatives gain traction in the back half of fiscal 2019,” Philbin said. “Improving the consistency of execution and optimizing our real estate portfolio will contribute to a meaningful improvement in our shoppers’ in-store experience and store traffic.”

The company said it is rolling out a new model for new and renovated Family Dollar stores, which will bring “significantly improved merchandise offerings,” the company said, including $1 merchandise. Furthermore, the company plans to offer adult beverages at about 1,000 stores and expand freezers and coolers in roughly 400 stores.

The new model has seen increased traffic, and has performed particularly well at the most challenged Family Dollar stores, the company said.

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report