Sibleys Shoes Inc., a key bellwether retailer for urban footwear trends in the Detroit market, said Wednesday that it will close its 29 retail shoe stores in Michigan and Ohio. The closures would signal the end of an 83 year run that started with a single store in the Motor City.
Art Artrip, Sibley's president and CEO, said in a statement, “Although Sibleys wants to sell to a buyer with the financial backing to continue operations, the likelihood of this happening now looks very remote.”
The company and its advisors have spent several months considering restructuring alternatives and have been unsuccessful in finding the capital needed to keep the business operating. Sibleys said they would continue to seek alternatives to enable it to continue as a going concern, it has determined that it has no other choice but to begin store closing sales at all locations.
“Sibleys and its advisors have evaluated all alternatives before deciding to go this route”, said Artrip.
The company has experienced lagging sales for the past couple of years fueled by the sluggish economy and the decrease in overall mall traffic. Sibleys did not say how many employees' jobs are at risk or when the stores might close, but there were reports that some stores already looked like they had closed.
Sibleys Shoes was founded in 1920 and began with a single store on Sibley Street in Detroit.
