Coldwater Creek is closing its doors, not only at The Shops at Wiregrass in Wesley Chapel, but everywhere.
The women’s apparel retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Friday, and announced to its investors that it would wind down operations and close more than 350 stores in May, including five in the Tampa Bay area.
It was founded in 1984 in Idaho, and quickly opened retail outlets across the country. Just a year ago, the company employed 2,500 full-time employes and 4,100 part-time employees nationwide.
The company did not release how many employees it had in its Shops at Wiregrass location.
Coldwater Creek executives told investors they looked at all other alternatives to closing over the last six months, including finding someone who might want to buy the company. However, finding a suitor was unsuccessful, as were attempts to find a loan or an investor willing to bankroll an effort to turn the company around.
Coldwater Creek says it will hold “going out of business” sales in the coming months, beginning as early as May.
“First and foremost, we are extremely grateful to all of our associates for 30 years of dedicated service to Coldwater Creek and to the millions of loyal customers who have enjoyed our award-winning customer service and beautiful and unique products,” said Jill Dean, president and chief executive of Coldwater Creek, in a release. “Our talented associates continue to impress, performing their duties with professionalism and grace during this period of uncertainty.
“We we begin preparing to wind down our operations, customers should know that our stores and website remain open for business, and we will be providing information about the tremendous values that will be available at our inventory clearance sales in the coming weeks.”
