Add BCBG to the list of apparel chains whose stores will disappear from many shopping malls in 2017.
The California-based firm BCBG Max Azria Group Inc. is shuttering about 120 stores, primarily in the U.S., including its three remaining stand-alone boutiques in Minnesota.
The stores, which sell higher-end women's apparel and accessories, have started liquidation sales that are expected to last eight to 10 weeks. The company's two stores at the Mall of America, one under the BCBGeneration brand and the other called BCBGMaxazria, are among those closing. So is a store at Albertville Premium Outlets.
"These stores either are unprofitable or have untenable lease agreements," Seth Lubove, a spokesman for BCBG, said in a statement.
The company did not disclose how many stores it has, but Bloomberg recently reported it has more than 570 worldwide, including more than 175 in the U.S. The store closings represent less than a third of the chain's U.S. stores, Lubove said.
BCBG's mini-shops inside of Macy's — including those at Rosedale Center, Southdale Center, Ridgedale Center, Burnsville Center and Maplewood Mall — will remain intact. A stand-alone store at the Galleria in Edina closed last year.
BCBG was founded by designer Max Azria and is a brand that has often been worn by celebrities. As sales have been pressured by online shopping, the fashion house is repositioning itself to have fewer stores while expanding its online presence and maintaining boutiques inside other stores and other wholesale and licensing agreements.
"Like so many other great brands, BCBG has been negatively impacted by the growth in online sales and shifts in customer shopping patterns and, as a result, has too large a physical retail footprint," BCBG said last month when it disclosed restructuring plans.
