HINGHAM, Mass.—Retailer Talbots Inc. said Friday it will close 78 stores for kids or men by September and discontinue those businesses as part of a bid to focus more on its core customer—women who are 35 years old or older.
The company also said its fourth-quarter sales so far were trending lower for both its Talbots and J.Jill brands.
Its shares tumbled 84 cents, or 7.9 percent, to $9.84 in morning trading Friday after sinking to a 52-week low of $9.63 a share earlier in the session.
Talbots said it will close 66 Talbots Kids stores and 12 Talbots Mens stores in a move that will affect about 800 full- and part-time jobs, or about 5 percent of the total Talbots work force, the company added.
One of the stores targeted for closure is in metropolitan Denver, but the company did not say how many employees there would be affected.
The retailer said the decision to close the brands was part of the company’s strategic business review first announced in October.
In that review, Talbots said it found the concepts did not “demonstrate the potential to deliver acceptable long-term return on investment.”
Talbots said it will redirect resources to its other businesses.
The company said total revenue would be affected by about $100 million per year. The chain added it should realize operational benefits of about $13 million to $15 million, or 15 cents to 18 cents per share, each year.
Talbots also said it expects to record pretax expenses for the closings of about $5 million, or 6 cents per share, in the fourth quarter and expenses of about $34 million to $42 million, or 40 cents to 49 cents per share, in fiscal 2008.
