CT Chain Retailers Announce Store Closings Due To Coronavirus

CONNECTICUT — As many business owners across Connecticut eagerly await being able to fully reopen when coronavirus concerns subside, several major retailers are planning to close their doors for good.

Two months after announcing the closing of six of Connecticut' 14 Pier 1 Imports, the retailer is looking to close all of its stores for good. JCPenney, which has seven Connecticut locations, also filed for bankruptcy over last weekend and announced plans to close more than 200 stores nationwide.

Both companies listed the coronavirus pandemic as the reason for the bankruptcy filing. Earlier this week, Pier 1 Imports announced it requested to stop retail operations "as soon as reasonably possible."

"Ultimately, due to the combination of a challenging retail environment and the new reality and uncertainty of a post-COVID world, the company and its advisers determined that an orderly wind-down is the best way to maximize the value of Pier 1's assets," the company said in a news release, calling it an "orderly wind-down of business operations."

Both companies had been struggling and feeling the effects of the rise of online retail giants like Amazon and Wayfair. Pier 1 cut its store numbers in half last year and announced in February the closure of 450 stores.

In February, a total of six Connecticut Pier 1 stores were removed from the website, signaling plans for them to close. Just eight Connecticut locations remained, but now appear poised to close as well. Those locations are in Enfield, Glastonbury, Newington, Old Saybrook, Southbury, Branford, Milford, and Fairfield.

Pier 1 plans to continue to hold liquidation sales to sell the inventory it has left, and will also sell its website and intellectual property.

JCPenney has not released a list of the stores it plans to close but said 192 stores would close this year and another 50 stores will close next year.

"Until this pandemic struck, we had made significant progress rebuilding our company," JCPenney CEO Jill Soltau in a statement.

These JCPenney locations currently remain open in Connecticut are:

• Danbury Fair Mall, 7 Backus Avenue, Danbury
• Trumbull Parking Park, 5065 Main Street, Trumbull
• Brass Mill Center, 525 Union Street, Waterbury
• Torrington Commons, 251 High Street, Torrington
• Westfarms Mall, 300 Westfarms Mall, Farmington
• Shoppes @ Buckland, 344 V Buckland Hills Drive, Manchester
• Crystal Mall, 850 Hartford Pike, Waterford

Victoria's Secret announced this week it plans to permanently close approximately 250 stores, USA Today reported. Parent company L Brands, which also owns Bath & Body Works, plans to close 50 of those stores as well.

Currently, there are Victoria's Secret locations in Avon, Waterbury, Milford, Waterbury, Danbury, Fairfield, Meriden, Norwalk, Southbury, Stamford, Manchester, Uncasville, Trumbull, Farmington, and West Hartford. No specific locations targeted for closure have yet to be announced by Victoria's Secret.

Bath & Body Works locations in Connecticut include: Waterbury, Plainville, Meriden, Farmington, Milford, Danbury, Trumbull, Manchester, Clinton, Enfield, Norwalk, and Stamford. No specific locations targeted for closure have yet to be announced by Bath & Body Works.

The J.Crew Group filed for bankruptcy earlier this month, and Neiman Marcus said last week it was turning its business over to creditors who provided the company with $675 million in financing to continue operations. J. Crew locations currently in Connecticut include: Farmington, Canton, New Haven, Westport, New Canaan, and Greenwich.

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Samantha Mercado, Patch Staff, contributed to this article.