Published: January 07, 2009 10:04 pm      

Goody's stores set for closure

Officials say all 287 will be liquidated

Ashland — The Ashland Town Center mall is about to lose one of its anchor stores.

Goody’s Family Clothing will be closing, perhaps as early as Friday, said Diane Dean, store manager.

The closing is companywide — the store’s parent company plans to liquidate all 287 of its stores, according to news reports.

“We are deeply saddened by our recent news,” Dean said Wednesday.

When the store will close is unclear. Rumors of the liquidation have been circulating for about two weeks and some believe the store may close Friday, Dean said.

The Ashland store employs 28, Dean said. A couple of them will take retirement. As for the rest, “we hope we will be able to place them,” she said.

Reached at the corporate office, company spokesman Gary Wiatchos wouldn’t comment on the liquidation.

The store, which specializes in discount clothing, was unable to come to terms with its creditors and is seeking bids to liquidate its inventory and assets, according to a Dow Jones news report.

Goody’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in June, and emerged from bankruptcy protection in October, expecting strong holiday sales.

The company hasn’t made official notification to the mall, said General Manager Merri Hurn.

When it happens, the closure will be on the heels of two others at the mall. KB Toys and B Moss, a women’s apparel chain, closed at the end of December.

Hurn said she is confident the mall will weather the blow. The mall continues to negotiate leases with prospective merchants, she said.

It is too early to say whether the mall will find a tenant for the 27,900-foot Goody’s, Hurn said. But the mall was able to market the space left vacant when Walmart relocated to Melody Mountain, she noted.

“Retail is tough right now, but we’ll bounce back,” she said.

Goody’s also has a store in Portsmouth and several in the Huntington-Charleston area.

MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652. The Associated Press contributed information for this story.