US fashion, cosmetics and lifestyle retailer The Bon-Ton Stores has announced the closure of two of its Elder-Beerman stores and one of its Bon-Ton stores due to take effect early next year.
The Bon-Ton Stores affected include Elder-Beerman stores in the Huntington Mall in Huntington, West Virgina, and the Lima Mall in Lima, Ohio; and the Bon-Ton store in the Carousel Centre in Syracuse, New York. The company will not renew the leases of the three affected stores when they expire in January and February.
The closings will impact 58, 51 and 43 associates at the Huntington Mall, Lima Mall and Carousel Center locations, respectively. Sales associates are not guaranteed to be repositioned following the closures, although the company has offered employees the opportunity to either interview for available positions at other stores or receive career transition benefits such as severance pay and state employment service support.
Kathryn Bufano, President and Chief Executive Officer, said: "We actively review our store portfolio to ensure efficient asset utilisation. While decisions to close stores are not taken lightly, closings are part of ongoing real estate initiatives in which we strategically conclude operations at underperforming locations, enabling us to redirect capital into more profitable and productive assets. As a result of our performance reviews, we felt it prudent to close the aforementioned stores. We are very grateful for the dedicated Huntington, Lima and Carousel Center store associates and are committed to providing assistance to these associates."
The Bon-Ton Stores operates 270 stores across chains including Elder-Beerman, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Herberger’s and Younkers, as well as Bon-Ton.
