Women's Plus-sized Retailer Avenue Closing All Its Stores Including 30 in Texas

Avenue is the latest U.S. apparel retailer to skip a bankruptcy filing and close all stores.In business for more than 35 years, the plus-sized retailer has 222 stores in 33 states, significantly down from it's peak of more than 500 stores before the Great Recession. Ten of the 30 stores closing in Texas are in Dallas-Fort Worth in shopping centers in Arlington, Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Lewisville, McKinney, Mesquite, Plano and Watauga.The New Jersey-based retailer is owned by Philadelphia-based private equity firm Versa Capital Management who hasn't been reached for comment. The company made the announcement in a short press release from liquidators Gordon Brothers and Hilco Merchant Resources. Avenue stores are in some strong locations across the larger cities in Texas, said Ian Pierce, spokesman for Dallas-based Weitzman. "Our markets are tight enough that landlords should see the vacancies as an opportunity to bring in stronger concepts."Avenue stores are in centers with strong anchors such as Target, or at key intersections including The Forum in San Antonio, Watauga Towne Center Crossing and Eastchase Market in Fort Worth.Store sizes vary. In Dallas' Medallion Center the location is in 5,700 square feet. Through the first seven months of 2019, Coresight Research said, U.S. retailers announced 7,567 store closings and 3,064 store openings. This compares with 5,864 closures and 3,258 opening in all of 2018.The plus-sized market for women is a more than $20 billion a year market. Walmart acquired plus-sized retailer Eloquii last fall. J.C. Penney has been in the plus-sized market for years and others including Kohl's and Target have expanded with private label brands.Twitter: @MariaHalkias  Continue reading...