KANSAS CITY METRO — Ascena Retail Group Inc., the parent company of women’s apparel brands including LOFT Outlet and Justice, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday while announcing a debt restructuring agreement with 68% of its lenders.
Eight Kansas City-area locations of Justice are slated to close, the Kansas City Business Journal reported. They are: Independence Commons in Independence; Legends Outlets in Kansas City, Kan.; Oak Park Mall in Overland Park; Olathe Pointe in Leawood; Summit Woods Crossing in Lee’s Summit; Tiffany Springs in Kansas City; Town Center Plaza in Leawood; and Zona Rosa in Kansas City.
Only two of the five Lane Bryant stores in the Kansas City area are slated to close in Ascena’s first wave of shutterings, according to its bankruptcy filing. The outlet stores in the Legends Outlets and Summit Woods Crossing will close.
Of the four LOFT stores in the Kansas City area, only the LOFT Outlet at Summit Fair in Lee’s Summit is set to close. There is one Kansas City-area Ann Taylor store — a factory store at the Legends Outlets, which is not part of the first wave of closings, according to Ascena’s bankruptcy filing. There are no Lou & Grey stores in the Kansas City area.
The final number of store closings will be determined by lease negotiations with landlords, the company said.
This is only the latest in dozens of bankruptcy and closings across the metro. Oak Park Mall has been especially hit hard, losing both its American Girl store and its Microsoft store recently, all in tandem with the coronavirus pandemic.
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