Dressbarn closing all 650 women’s clothing stores

Dressbarn announced Monday that it would be winding down operations, leading to a full closure of its 650 stores nationwide. The women’s clothing chain was founded in 1962 by Elliot and Roslyn Jaffe in Connecticut before growing into a nationwide chain.

In a press release, the company’s chief financial officer, Steven Taylor, said Dressbarn has not been operating at an “acceptable level of profitability in today’s retail environment.”

There are seven Dressbarn locations throughout Utah, currently. There used to be a Logan location but that store recently closed before this announcement. The sign at 1475 North Main has already been removed and the store mostly cleared out. There is only one Dressbarn in Idaho, located in Boise.

Its owner, Ascena Retail Group Inc., says it wants to focus on its more profitable brands. According to the Associated Press, Ascena also owns Ann Taylor, Lane Bryant and other clothing stores.

The company did not say when Dressbarn will shut all its stores. There are no current changes to Dressbarn’s return, refund, or gift card policies. Dressbarn employs about 6,800 people across the country.

Dressbarn’s closure is one more in a series of national retail chains that have announced nationwide closures in recent months, including Payless Shoes, Shopko, Herberger’s, Bed Bath & Beyond, Toys R Us and Bon Ton. Many of them have shared similar reasons for their shutdowns: difficulty with large debt loads.

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