American Girl Store In Natick Mall To Close March 20

NATICK, MA- The American Girl Doll Store in the Natick Mall will close its doors after 10 years of business, on March 20. It's the company's only location in Massachusetts.

The Natick Mall store is one of two locations set to close in March- a store in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota will also close that same day. In a statement, the company said the leases for both stores expire this quarter and the closures were necessary to improve the overall health of the business and reinvest in key areas of growth.

“It has been our privilege to serve these communities for more than a decade, and we thank our loyal customers for their patronage and look forward to continuing our valued relationship with them,” said Wade Opland, Vice President of Retail for American Girl.

The store first opened its doors in the Natick mall on November 1, 2008. The company statement said the closures in Boston will impact 22 regular full and part-time employees and 51 part-time employees who work less than 20 hours a week. American Girl said it will offer transition assistance to affected employees.

American Girl Doll offers customizable dolls as well as dolls from different historic periods, complete with a backstory, books and accessories. The store offers customers immersive experiences as well- the Natick location has a cafe as well as a doll hair salon. Birthday parties and events are held at the location as well.

The marketing manager of Brookfield Properties, owner of the Natick Mall, told Patch American Girl has been a great partner to Natick for over 10 years and the mall is sad to see it leave. "However, this is the nature of our business and we approach this as an opportunity to repurpose valuable space that is now available," Claudia Ilagan, Marketing Manager-East of Brookfield Properties said.

American Girl Doll has 17 stores across the country and is a division of Mattel Inc.

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Photo Credit: American Girl Doll, Mattel