Why Justice Stores Are All Closing

Tween retail mainstay Justice is closing all its stores.

The brand’s parent company, Ascena Retail Group Inc., said last week that all doors are expected to shut down by early 2021. An exact date has not yet been announced.

Until then, Justice stores will remain open and continue serving customers through the 2020 holiday season, and customers can also shop online at Shopjustice.com.

FN previously reported that Justice stores will soon have a new owner, Bluestar Alliance LLC. The winning bid was valued at about $90 million. It was approximately $30 million more than the stalking-horse bid offered by Bluestar on Oct. 22 — and includes Justice’s intellectual property plus certain related assets, as well as the assumption of certain liabilities.

A court hearing took place on Nov. 12, and the transaction is expected to close by the end of the month.

News of the closures came after Ascena revealed in July that it would shut down about 600 of the more than 800 Justice store U.S. locations.

Formerly known as Limited Too, Justice — which became a subsidiary of Ascena in 2009 — offers fashion, footwear and accessories for girls aged 6 through 12. Its physical units were located across the United States and Canada, as well as in Asia, Mexico and the Middle East.

Bluestar’s portfolio includes two other teen-centric brands — Hurley and Bebe. The group also owns Tahari, Brookstone, Kensie, Limited Too, Nanette Lepore and Catherine Malandrino.

Its retail footprint is currently made up of about 250 stores, shop-in-shops and distributors across North America, Europe and South America, as well as Japan, China, Korea, Australia, the Middle East and more.