Jones Apparel Announces Specialty Store Closings

Jones Apparel Group Inc. (New York), whose brands include Nine West, Anne Klein, Easy Spirit and its newest concept ShoeWoo, plans to close 166 specialty retail stores in 2010.

The parent company hasn’t announced specific locations yet, but indicated that most of the closures will be mall-based specialty retail stores to support the brand’s focus on its outlet stores.

In 2009, the retailer shuttered 99 locations and opened 20, bringing its store total to 938 locations, according to CoStar Group Inc. (Bethesda, Md.). Of those stores, more than 300 are specialty retail stores. Jones' outlet store business accounts for 584 U.S. stores across five of its brands, says the commercial real estate marketing and analysis firm.

For the fourth quarter, Jones Apparel’s sales were $777 million, or 8 percent less than a year ago. The company’s gross profit increased 34.4 percent during that same time period, attributed to better inventory management. “Our fourth quarter results were reflective of today’s macroeconomic situation, which was marked by both low consumer confidence and spending levels,” says Jones Apparel ceo Wesley Card.