Gymboree Reportedly Closing All 900 Stores After Filing For Bankruptcy

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Gymboree Reportedly Closing All 900 Stores After Filing For Bankruptcy

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In 2017, due to tougher competition, a large debt load, and demand for cheaper prices, children's retailer Gymboree filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

However, the company was not ready to give up even with a $1 billion debt. They underwent a rebranding process, reemerged a few months later, and relaunched "an all-new Gymboree" the following year.

"The product is completely re-engineered, redesigned. [There's] elevated quality, elevated aesthetic, the new mix-and-match capability, that hasn't been part of the offering to date," Gymboree Group Chief Executive Daniel Griesemer told CNBC.

There was a lot of hope for the company, which closed 375 stores at the time, to continue operating for years to come as it managed to pay back $900 million of the money it owed.

Despite all the effort, the company's plan to remain standing within the shaky retail industry failed.

Now, the 32-year-old retail giant is expected to file for bankruptcy protection once again, according to CNBC.

This time, the company is expected to shutter about 900 of its stores that operate under the Gymboree, Janie and Jack and Crazy 8 brands, an anonymous insider told the outlet.

The source also revealed that the company is hoping to sell Janie and Jack, its high-end brand, which could save at least 139 stores.

As for Gymboree Play & Music, which offers music, art, and research-based developmental play classes for parents and children up to the age of five, families with young kids will be relieved to know that it won't be affected by the retailer's demise because it is no longer owned by the Gymboree Group. They sold it in July 2016.

More information is expected on the potential bankruptcy filing and store liquidation is expected soon. We will keep you updated on any new developments.

Do you shop at Gymboree?

Blair isn't a bestselling author, but she has a knack for beautiful prose. When she isn't writing for Shared, she enjoys listening to podcasts.