Dressbarn, the women’s clothing chain that’s been around for nearly 60 years, is closing all 650 of its stores.
Dressbarn has stores in Virginia Beach, Hampton, Tabb and Williamsburg among its 20 Virginia locations.
The company’s chief financial officer, Steven Taylor, said Dressbarn has not been operating at an “acceptable level of profitability in today’s retail environment.”
Its owner, Ascena Retail Group Inc., says it wants to focus on its more profitable brands. Ascena also owns Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and other clothing stores.
The company did not say when Dressbarn will shut all its stores. Dressbarn employs about 6,800 people. For now, all the stores are open and operating normally, Dressbarn said in a statement.
It also did not disclose how many employees would be displaced but said they would be “provided with transition support.”
After the news was announced Monday, shares of Ascena Retail Group Inc. rose 2.6 percent to $1.17 in extended trading. Shares of the Mahwah, New Jersey-based company are down more than 50 percent so far this year.
