It’s one of the first places parents hit at the mall when looking for clothing for their little ones, but The Children’s Place will have a much smaller retail footprint soon.

The company, which operates more than 900 locations in the U.S. and Canada, is closing 300 of its stores. That’s the bad news. The good news (for frugal moms at least) is liquidation sales will start soon.


Roughly 200 stores are expected to close by the end of this year. The remaining 100 will shut down in 2021.

“This initiative will greatly reduce our reliance on our brick-and-mortar channel and we are targeting our mall-based, brick-and-mortar portfolio to represent less than 25% of our revenue entering fiscal 2022,” Jane Elfers, president and CEO said in a statement.

This comes after a huge disruption to business due to the COVID-19 pandemic as all The Children’s Place stores in the U.S. and Canada closed in March. Some began reopening in May and “as of June 8, 2020, The Children’s Place had 61 stores open to the public in the U.S. and Canada” the company notes.

An investor statement posted to its website the chain states: “Net sales decreased 38.1% to $255.2 million in the three months ended May 2, 2020 from $412.4 million in the three months ended May 4, 2019, primarily as a result of temporary store closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

So what does this mean for shoppers?

The company expects a “good portion” of the closed stores will reopen and liquidate, and there is currently a 50% to 80% off sale on the chain’s website.

As Elfers explains, the company believes its future is online. She says online demand is up 300% and that the company’s storefronts represent less than 25% of their revenue.