NEW YORK (AP) — The operator of Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Thursday, the latest retailer to do so during the pandemic.
Ascena Retail Group, which operates nearly 3,000 stores mostly at malls, has been dragged down by debt and weak sales for years.
In a press release, the company said they were closing all of their plus-size stores Catherines.
The company also said in the release that they plan to "strategically reduce its footprint with the closing of a significant number of Justice stores and a select number of Ann Taylor, LOFT, Lane Bryant, and Lou & Grey stores."
It joins other retailers that have filed for bankruptcy in recent weeks, including Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney, and J. Crew.
These retailers were already struggling with poor sales, but the forced closure of stores in March to reduce the spread of the coronavirus put them further in peril.
Experts believe that there will be another wave of bankruptcies this fall that will include companies that had been healthy before the pandemic struck.
