It’s been a tough year for corporations and another major retailer has announced it won’t make it to Christmas 2023.
Christmas Tree Shops is joining a growing list of companies, such as Bed Bath & Beyond and buybuy BABY, that are closing all their locations nationwide. All three stores are currently in the Augusta Exchange shopping center.
ABD reached out to the Augusta store located at 239 Robert C. Daniel Jr. Parkway, next to Target for more information. Signs at the store advertise sales of up to 50 percent off its remaining merchandise.
“We’ll close when there’s nothing left to sell,” a store employee said.
According to a July 5 article from USA Today, the company filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection in May.
“According to a filing with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware, last week, the company and its stakeholders have ‘reached an agreement this week to liquidate the roughly 70 remaining stores, unless a buyer emerges in the next week or so,” the article, which cited The Wall Street Journal as its source said.
The article also said Christmas Tree Shops took out a loan for $45 million, but it was canceled because the company didn’t comply with the terms of the loan.
Bed Bath & Beyond bought the company in 2003 and sold it to Handil Holdings, a private firm, in 2020.
Regardless of the reasons for its closure, many shoppers nationwide expressed their disappointment on its Facebook page. Katrina Fidanza, a local professional photographer, said she not only shopped at Christmas Tree Shops, but she also previously worked at one of its stores.
“My mom was also a manager of the Watertown, New York store that shut down at the end of June,” Fidanza said.
Founded in 1970 in Massachusetts, the company sells not only Christmas items, but also home décor, furniture, and pet supplies. For more information, visit christmastreeshops.com/.
