Bebe Closing Arlington Store in May

ARLINGTON, VA — The clothing chain Bebe, which caters to younger women, will close all of its by the end of May, according to documents the company filed Thursday with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Bebe Stores Inc. is based in Brisbane, California, and has 180 locations in the United States and Canada.

The company has one store in Arlington, located at Fashion Center at Pentagon City at 1100 S Hayes St. #S10A.

Earlier in the month, the chain had filed paperwork noting it planned to close only 21 stores, which represented roughly 12 percent of its total outlets. CNBC reports Bebe was trying to re-organize and considering a move to online-only sales. Net sales at Bebe fell 13.5 percent in the first six months of its current fiscal year, which ended Dec. 31. It recorded a net loss of $13 million over that same period.

Bebe has not commented on the closure and there was no mention of it on the company's website Friday morning.

Find a list of all Bebe stores here.

In its SEC filing the company said it will pay a consultant $500,000 to sell the chain's inventory, and it will pay an impairment charge of about $20 million, net of deferred rent and other credits, by closing the stores. This impairment charge will be recorded in the third and fourth quarters of this year, according to the SEC filing.

Photo: Michael Gray/Flickr