Gadzooks, It Wasn't Working!

Gadzooks Inc. (Carrollton, Texas) has announced that it filed for bankruptcy protection in the Northern District of Texas. The specialty apparel retailer said the move was necessary in order to provide time to complete the reorganization of its core business around the 252 stores it had chosen to strengthen its market position in the junior apparel business.

In addition to 31 stores currently being liquidated, approximately 125 additional stores will be liquidated in the coming weeks. In addition to the store closings, approximately 65 corporate and field overhead positions will be eliminated to streamline the cost structure of the company.

Last year, the company announced it was getting out of the menswear business and would concentrate entirely on womenswear. Last month, it announced a committee was being formed to oversee that restructuring.

“We regret that this action was necessary after so many years of successful results,” said chairman and ceo Jerry Szczepanski, “but our transition to an all-girl format now requires us to concentrate our resources on the continuing improvement of our concept.”