Children's Retailer In Columbia To Close Amid Bankruptcy: Reports

COLUMBIA, MD — Children's retailer Gymboree is filing for bankruptcy for the second time in two years and will reportedly close its remaining 900 stores. That includes the shop at The Mall in Columbia.

Gymboree operates stores under three banners — Janie and Jack, Gymboree and Crazy 8.

Like many brick-and-mortar stores, it has struggled to remain afloat against increased online competition.

The Wall Street Journal cited sources familiar with Gymboree’s plan to sell the operation and said it is expected to liquidate is remaining 900 stores when it files for bankruptcy again. Selling off the businesses at the brand level could spare the high-end Janie and Jack brand from liquidation, according to the report.

The company announced in December 2018 that it was in the midst of a strategic review process that would entail closing Crazy 8 locations and significantly reducing the number of Gymboree stores in 2019.

Streamlining would establish a "brand portfolio and store footprint that is optimized for the current retail environment," Gymboree Group CEO Shaz Kahng said in a statement in December.

Gymboree first filed for bankruptcy in July 2017 and closed 350 stores.

At the time, President Daniel Griesemer said in a statement that the store closures would allow the company "greater financial flexibility” as it shed $900 million in debt.

He told CNBC last summer when the company refreshed its brand that 25 percent of customers shopped online but most liked going to stores to "touch and feel and look at quality and sizing." In its previous bankruptcy filing, Gymboree said that Gap and the Children's Place had less debt financing and sold lower-cost clothing, which "hurt" the company, CNBC reported.

Though downsized, the company and its brands have stores around the country, with presence in Arizona, California, Colorado, the District of Columbia, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, North Carolina, New Jersey, New Mexico, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia and Washington.

Pictured, Disney Channel star Sofia Carson partnered with Gymboree to offer "Sofia's Picks," in-store and online. (Photo by Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Gymboree)