Mervyns, the 59-year-old mid-tier department store chain based in the San Francisco Bay Area town of Hayward, said Friday it will shutter all remaining stores after the Holiday season.  Mervyn’s, which has been operating under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since late July, will use the Holiday season to hold GOB sales at all 149 stores in its portfolio.  The retailer had planned to close only 26 stores as part of the bankruptcy plan, but the tighter credit markets and lack of a willing buyer forced the company to pull the plug.


Together with its financial and legal advisers, Mervyns completed a thorough analysis of all available options, including a sale of the company, prior to undertaking this course of action. The company and its Board of Directors determined that holding going out of business sales during the holiday season is the best way to maximize value for the company’s creditors. Mervyns intends to retain an outside professional services firm to assist in the liquidation sales of inventory.


“We are disappointed with this outcome but the Company’s declining liquidity position and the extremely challenging retail environment, together with the fact that we have exhausted all other possibilities, requires that we take this action,” said John Goodman, CEO of Mervyns.


Goodman added, “I want to thank the many talented Mervyns associates for their outstanding efforts. Although we took a number of steps to improve our financial performance, we were unable to return the company to profitability. We appreciate the hard work and loyalty of our store associates, whose continued assistance we will rely upon during our going out of business sales.”