Posted by admin | Posted in Juicy Couture | Posted on 24-07-2009
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Liz Claiborne (LIZ) said Monday its Madison Avenue Juicy Couture shop is not closed and it is “not necessarily closing.”
A Liz Claiborne spokeswoman said the company is “assessing the productivity of the store as it relates to the cost of operations” - metrics it uses with all its stores to determine “the most appropriate next steps.”
Falling store traffic has plagued retailers as consumers have tightened their purse strings amid the credit crunch. In addition, sky-high leases signed when the commercial real-estate market was booming have come back to haunt some retailers. A report by Women’s Wear Daily said the division had been paying $2 million a year for the space and planned to close the store.
In May, Liz Claiborne, whose brands include Juicy Couture and Lucky Brand Jeans, posted a first-quarter loss of $91.4 million, compared with a loss of $31 million a year earlier. Over the past two years, Liz Claiborne has eliminated several thousand jobs and streamlined its brand portfolio by selling, closing or licensing more than a dozen brands.
Liz Claiborne shares recently traded up 2.68% to $2.68.