Another chain leaving New Jersey

It’s getting kind of dizzying trying to keep up with all the retailers who are going under as a result of the pandemic. We already knew that malls themselves are in trouble, and many of their tenants aren’t faring much better.

The latest name brand to announce that it’s closing its New Jersey stores is tween clothing brand Justice. The company had seven stores left in the state in Bridgewater, Cherry Hill, Deptford, Edison, Elizabeth, Freehold, Paramus and Wayne; earlier this year it had closed 20 New Jersey stores after its parent company, New Jersey based Ascena, filed for bankruptcy. Ascena also owns Ann Taylor, Catherines, Lane Bryant, LOFT, Lou & Grey and Cacique.

According to the company’s press release, Justice stores will remain open and continue serving customers through the holiday season. A wind down of all Justice locations is expected to conclude by early 2021. In addition, Justice customers can continue to shop online at shopjustice.com through the holidays. Justice Brand Holdings LLC, an entity formed by Bluestar Alliance LLC (a leading brand management company), will acquire the intellectual property of Ascena’s Justice brand, certain other Justice brand assets and assume certain liabilities for total consideration of approximately $90 million. Gary Muto, Chief Executive Officer of Ascena, commented, “The conclusion of the sale process for our Justice brand is a significant step forward in our efforts to complete our restructuring process and maximize value for all our stakeholders.”

This year has been brutal for retailers with iconic brands like JC Penney, Lord & Taylor, Brooks Brothers, J Crew, and GNC all seeking bankruptcy protection.

The post above reflects the thoughts and observations of New Jersey 101.5 talk show host Bill Doyle. Any opinions expressed are Bill Doyle's own.