2 Gap Clothing Stores In Virginia Close

VIRGINIA — Two Gap clothing stores in Virginia have closed, company officials said Monday. The store closure was part of a plan announced in February 2019 to close 230 stores across the country.

The two stores that closed Sunday were located at 1534 Rio Road E. in Charlottesville and 21100 Dulles Town Circle in Dulles, the company said.

Gap management said the stores that closed were either underperforming or no longer fit the vision for the future of the company.

"We are confident these closures will strengthen the health of the specialty fleet moving forward and will serve as a more appropriate foundation for brand revitalization," the company's management said in a statement on its website.

The brick-and-mortar retail landscape continued its decline in Virginia in 2019 and 2020, with several national chains announcing dozens of store closings by 2020.

Read more: NoVA, DC Store Closings By Chain Retailers In 2019

Last year, the parent company, Gap Inc. announced plans to shutter about 230 stores over the next two years. Last year, the San Francisco-based retail company had a total of 725 specialty stores, not including those in China. Sales had dropped 5 percent, according to Gap's 2018 earnings report.

The 50-year-old retailer has been mired in a financial swamp over the past few years. Gap is estimating that it will lose about $625 million from the store closure, but then save about $90 million as the process takes shape.

Gap joins other chains that are closing some of their Virginia stores.

Papyrus, a stationery retailer, is closing all of its stores across the country, according to Fortune. The chain operates three Washington, D.C., stores and six Virginia stores, including shops in McLean, Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax.

Papyrus joins other chains that are closing all or some of their DC and Virginia stores, including Pier 1 Imports, Bed Bath & Beyond, Sears, Kmart, Motherhood Maternity, Dressbarn and more.
Earlier this month, Pier 1 said it would likely close half of its stores to "better align its business with the current operating environment."

A dozen Virginia stores, including one each in Manassas, Falls Church, Arlington and Alexandria, were removed from the chain's website. The company confirmed on social media the stores removed from the website were slated for closure. Patch has posted the full list of the 12 Pier 1 stores expected to close.

Lord & Taylor said in November it is closing two stores in Northern Virginia, its Tysons Corner Center store and its Dulles Town Center store in Sterling, the Washington Business Journal reported. The Lord & Taylor store at Tysons will lay off 117 employees, effective Jan. 31. The store at Dulles Town Center laid off 79 employees when it closed Christmas Eve, according to the report.

The women's clothing store Avenue is closing more than 200 locations across the country, including three stores in Virginia. Read more.

In November, craft supply store A.C. Moore announced it was closing all of its stores. The arts and crafts supplier operates at least 15 stores in Virginia. Under the transition, as many as 40 A.C. Moore stores will become Michaels. The locations to become Michaels have not yet been named. Read more.

The news is a continuation of the recent climate for brick-and-mortar stores across America. A record 9,300-plus store closings were announced in 2019, and that number could be even higher in 2020, according to a report by Business Insider