Outlet Mall Staple Heritage Brands Is Closing All of Its Stores

A customer walks by signs advertising a going-out-of-business sale in a file photo. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

Heritage Brands, which has numerous stores in malls across the United States, said it will close down all of its 162 stores starting in 2021.

A total of 162 Heritage Brand stores—including Izod, Olga, Warner’s, and Van Heusen—will wind down operations by mid-2021, said the owner, PVH, in a press release. It will also cut about 12 percent of its corporate workforce across its Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Heritage Brand segments, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

“The structural changes occurring in the North American retail landscape have required us to take a hard look at our North American operations and identify where we can optimize costs across our business model,” said Manny Chirico, Chairman and CEO of PVH in a statement. “As a result, we are making the incredibly difficult decisions to close our Heritage Brands Retail business and eliminate a significant number of positions throughout our North American organization to align with the lower revenue base.”

The retailer, in part, cited the COVID-19 pandemic is a reason for a decline in sales, saying that the North American “retail landscape” is evolving at an accelerating pace.

“We did not take these decisions lightly, as our Heritage Brands Retail business is our oldest retail business yet no longer met appropriate return metrics. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to all of our impacted associates for their support, loyalty, and contributions over the years,” the CEO said.

The firm said last month that revenue dropped 43 percent to $1.34 billion in the three months ending in May. It will expect to incur $80 million in pretax charges related to store closures as well as layoffs.

PVH is the latest retailer to reevaluate its business in the wake of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus epidemic. Governors across the United States ordered “nonessential” businesses to shutter to curb the spread of the virus.

Other companies that have announced closures include Zara’s parent Inditex, H&M, Nordstrom, and Victoria’s Secret.

Meanwhile, RTW Retailwinds, the owner of New York & Co., and suit supplier Brooks Brothers both filed for bankruptcy in the past two weeks.

And before that, JCPenney announced it would shut down about 250 stores in the United States.

“The Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has created unprecedented challenges for our families, our loved ones, our communities, and our country. As a result, the American retail industry has experienced a profoundly different new reality, requiring JCPenney to make difficult decisions in running our business to protect the safety of our associates and customers and the future of our company,” JCPenney CEO Jill Soltau said in a statement on May 15 when making the announcement the longtime chain would restructure.