One Gap Store In Maryland On List Of Closures

BALTIMORE, MD — One Gap store in Maryland has shuttered as part of the clothing company's plan to close 230 stores across the country. Gap management said the stores that closed were either underperforming or no longer fit the vision for the future of the company.

The Gap store closure in the Gallery at Harborplace on Pratt Street in downtown Baltimore was the only one in Maryland, according to a statement the company released Monday.

"We are confident these closures will strengthen the health of the specialty fleet moving forward and will serve as a more appropriate foundation for brand revitalization," the company's management said in a statement on its website.

Gap posted signage advertising its store would be closing in the Gallery at Harborplace in May 2019, the Baltimore Business Journal reported.

Last year, its parent company, Gap Inc. announced plans to shutter about 230 stores over the next two years. The San Francisco-based retail company had a total of 725 specialty stores in 2019, not including those in China. Sales had dropped 5 percent, according to Gap's 2018 earnings report.

Related: MD Retail Apocalypse: Another Chain Closing All Stores

The 50-year-old retailer has been mired in a financial swamp over the past few years. Gap is estimating that it will lose about $625 million from the store closure, but then save about $90 million as the process takes shape.

As its retail stores close, the company announced a shift to the Gap's e-commerce division will take place.

Gap joins other chains that are closing some of their Maryland stores.

Earlier this month, Pier 1 said it would likely close half of its stores to "better align its business with the current operating environment." The Pier 1 stores in California, Gaithersburg, Gambrills, Nottingham, Ocean City, Pikesville, Rockville, Salisbury and Westminster are closing.

Sears has also been closing stores in waves as it switches to smaller-store formats. The Security Square store in Baltimore County closed in November. In rounds of closures since, Sears in Gaithersburg shuttered, while the Harford Mall Sears in Bel Air and the Cumberland Sears plan to close by the end of February.

Last fall, Bed Bath & Beyond shuttered its Owings Mills store because the lease was expiring. In an earnings call in early October, Bed, Bath & Beyond reported more than 400 leases would be expiring in the next couple of years, which would be a factor in additional closures.

A record 9,300-plus store closings were announced in 2019, according to Business Insider, which reported that number could be even higher in 2020.

— By Tom Davis, Elizabeth Janney and Deb Belt