Another popular retailer is ditching its brick and mortar stores and going to an online-only business.
Bebe Stores Inc. — a women's clothing chain based in San Francisco with 170 locations across the United States — is closing all of its stores and shifting its focus to become an online-only retailer. Bloomberg first reported this on March 21 and said that Bebe has "no significant debt" but has lost about $200 million over the past four years.
There are five Bebe stores in Georgia, and two of them — at the Cumberland Mall and Perimeter Mall — will close on March 31, according to WARN data from the Georgia Department of Economic Development. The other three stores — at the Mall of Georgia, Towne Center Mall in Kennesaw and Lenox Square — will close on May 27 and an estimated 63 employees will be impacted.
Bebe released a statement on March 22, saying it is "exploring strategic alternatives for the company" and "there is no assurance that this process will result in any specific transaction."
Its location at Lenox Square employs the largest staff in Georgia with 19 people.
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