Pending shutdown of Coldwater Creek will affect eight stores in Massachusetts
Scott Paulus | Milwaukee Business Journal
Coldwater Creek's pending shutdown will close 365 stores, including eight in Massachusetts.
The pending shutdown of the Coldwater Creek[5] women's apparel chain will leave empty spaces in several of Massachusetts’ newest upscale lifestyle centers.
Coldwater Creek filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today[6] to help smooth its pending closure after failing to find a buyer or a new source of capital to pay for a turnaround. The Idaho-based company had shopped itself to as many as 75 potential buyers last fall without any luck.
The company has been struggling since 2007 — when the oncoming recession took its toll on Coldwater Creek, like many other retailers. From 2007 and 2011, there were numerous management changes and strategic shifts, along with unmet sales expectations, that led to a disastrous buildup in inventory, according to a document filed in bankruptcy court in Delaware. The company’s revenue had fallen to $743 million in 2012[7], down from a peak of $1.1 billion in 2006.
The Coldwater Creek closure is bad news for the nearly 6,000 people who work for the publicly traded company. It’s also bad news for the landlords who will need to find new tenants as 365 Coldwater Creek stores, along with seven day spas, close for good. Going-out-of-business sales are expected to begin early next month at all the chain’s locations.
In Massachusetts, at least, this means empty spots in several of the higher-end outdoor shopping centers that have opened in the past decade, such as Derby Street Shoppes in Hingham, Legacy Place in Dedham and Wayside in Burlington. In all, eight stores in Massachusetts are affected. The others are at the Holyoke Mall at Ingleside, Mansfield Crossing, Solomon Pond Mall in Marlborough, Mashpee Commons, and the Shoppes at Blackstone Valley in Millbury.
References
- ^ Jon Chesto (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. (feeds.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Twitter (twitter.com)
- ^ Google+ (plus.google.com)
- ^ Coldwater Creek (www.bizjournals.com)
- ^ Coldwater Creek filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today (phx.corporate-ir.net)
- ^ to $743 million in 2012 (phx.corporate-ir.net)