Gymboree reportedly close to bankruptcy, to liquidate all stores

David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Pedestrians walk past a Gymboree store in San Francisco, California.

Children’s clothing retailer Gymboree Group is expected to file for bankruptcy protection this week, in what would be its second bankruptcy filing in less than two years, according The Wall Street Journal.

People familiar with the matter told the Journal that the retailer expects to close all 900 of its stores.

The company operates stores under the Gymboree, Janie and Jack and Crazy 8 brands. It is reviewing each of these banners to see if they could be sold at the brand level, the report said. While each of the brands sells children’s clothing, Janie and Jack is positioned as a high-end brand.

While Gymboree is expected to liquidate, one person told the paper, Janie and Jack stores may avoid this fate if it can find a buyer.

Gymboree previously filed for bankruptcy in June 2017. At the time, it was dealing with more than $1 billion in debt left over from a leveraged buyout by Bain Capital Partners in 2010, and it operated more than 1,280 stores.

It was one of the rare retailers that year to head into bankruptcy and emerge with hopes to run its business again. In that bankruptcy, Gymboree closed about 375 stores and shed $900 million in debt from its balance sheet.

Read the full Wall Street Journal report here.