Gymboree Set To File For Bankruptcy

Gymboree Group is expected to file for bankruptcy protection – again as soon as this week.

According to an anonymous source who spoke to CNBC, the children’s clothing retailer plans to close around 900 stores it operates under the Gymboree, Janie and Jack and Crazy 8 brands as part of the bankruptcy filing.

Just last month, it was reported that Gymboree was looking for a bankruptcy loan, which would allow some of its stores to remain open as the company looked for a buyer. The company is also trying to sell Janie and Jack in an attempt to save the high-end brand and its 139 stores.

Gymboree no longer owns Gymboree Play & Music, which offers play, music and art classes for parents and children. The company sold the business in July 2016.

This is the second time that Gymboree has filed for bankruptcy in less than two years. In 2017, the company closed approximately 450 locations in the hopes of reducing its debts by just over $900 million. To help stay in business during the filing, Gymboree secured a $35 million loan and an additional $273.5 million in DIP financing under asset-backed loan credit facilities.

As a result of that bankruptcy, Gymboree was able to cut its debt by $1 billion and closed a quarter of its stores.

The retailer has tried to emerge from the 2017 bankruptcy stronger. Earlier this year, Gymboree revamped its digital presence in time for Amazon Prime Day. The changes include updated websites, along with an app with augmented reality (AR) functionality. Its three brands also offered discounts of up to 80 percent during the popular online shopping day.

“It’s really an all-new Gymboree, different in almost every single way,” Gymboree Group Chief Executive Daniel Griesemer said at the time. “The product is completely re-engineered, redesigned … elevated quality, elevated aesthetic; the new mix-and-match capability — that hasn’t been part of the offering to date.”