Business & Tech

Filene's Basement Will Close its Doors After Christmas

Corporate owner Sym's will close four Filene's Basement stores by year's end, including Peabody.

[Editor's Note: This article has been updated to reflect a correction. It was Filene's Basement, Inc., not the Buxbaum Group itself, that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2009.]

is on its way out once again, and this time it looks to be for good.

The bargain hunters' department store, which first opened its location in 1983, was slated to close its doors in 2009 along with several other locations amid slumping sales in the nationwide recession. That year, an affiliate of the Buxbaum Group acquired the company and Filene's Basement, Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy a month later.

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Subsequently, the company entered a deal, subject to court approval, to sell 17 of the stores. The Peabody store was not originally included in the public auction for the corporation's assets, but then was saved when winning bidder, the Sym's Corp., agreed to obtain nearly all store leases and other assets.

Now, the new owners, still struggling with its Filene's Basement stores, plan to close four Massachusetts locations at Simon Malls by the end of the year, including the Peabody store.

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The Boston Globe reported today that the stores -- Peabody, Saugus, Watertown and Braintree -- represent 15 percent of the chain's remaining locations. The only other stores in the Bay State will now be Back Bay, Newton and Norwood among 22 total stores.

The Globe reported that employees at each of the four stores confirmed the shops would be closed around Christmas and that ongoing storewide sales of 20 to 40 percent off are final.

Retail industry analysts told the Globe that Filene's Basement, already hurting from the closure of its flagship store at Downtown Crossing years ago, continued on its financial decline as Syms failed to reinvent the brand with new strategies over the last two years.

In light of the news, Simon Property Group issued a press statement this afternoon.

“As the nation’s largest retail REIT, Simon Property Group is in constant communication with our retailers. As always, when a retailer announces their intention to close stores in our New England properties as Filene’s Basement has at South Shore Plaza, Square One Mall, Northshore Mall and Arsenal Mall, we work to replace that retailer with a tenant that will add to our contemporary retailer mix. We look forward to sharing new store announcements when leases are finalized,” said Ron Hanson, the Regional Senior Vice President for New England at Simon.

As of last report, the Peabody store employed 28 workers. The basement location in the mall was also renovated in 2007, creating a larger, 40,000-square-foot store.

No further details were available on what Simon's plans are to fill that space.

The bargain retail chain was established 100 years ago by Edward Filene as a cheap alternative to his father’s successful Boston department store. Since 1909, Filene’s Basement has been well known for its annual “Running of the Brides” gown sale.


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