Another major blow has been dealt to the Orchards Mall in Benton Harbor as The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. announced this afternoon that their Carson’s Store inside the mall is one of 42 locations nationwide targeted for closure in a major reorganization program beginning immediately.
Bill Tracy is President and Chief Executive Office for The Bon-Ton Stores. He said this afternoon, “As part of the comprehensive turnaround plan we announced in November, we are taking the next steps in our efforts to move forward with a more productive store footprint.” He adds, “Including other recently announced store closures, we expect to close a total of 47 stores in early 2018. We remain focused on executing our key initiatives to drive improved performance in an effort to strengthen our capital structure to support the business going forward.”
Tracy also told Wall Street, “We would like to thank the loyal customers who have shopped at these locations and express deep gratitude to our team of hard-working associates for their commitment to Bon-Ton and to serving our customers.”
According to officials with Hilco Merchant Resources, a third-party liquidator hired by The Bon-Ton Stores to help work through the shutdown process, store closing sales are slated to begin this Friday, February 1st and run for up to 12 weeks, depending on inventory levels.
The Orchards Mall shutdown is one of two properties to be closed in Michigan. The other is an Elder-Beerman store in Adrian. The local Carson’s was an Elder-Beerman property for many years before being converted to Carson’s.
The Carson’s store in the Concord Mall in Elkhart will also be closed…one of five Indiana stores on the list of 42 new closings announced today.
USA Today had reported earlier today that sales had continued to decline while losses mounted forcing The Bon-Ton Stores into making the decision to close more than 40 stores this year. They reported that Bon-Ton “Has lost money for the last six years, and said Thursday it lost $44.9 million in its fiscal third quarter as sales fell 7.6-percent. Through the first three quarters of 2017, Bon-Ton lost $135.4 million.”
