Banana Republic has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. Its space next to the Apple Store has been cleared out of merchandise. A sign on the door provides a number to call for deliveries, so it appears they haven't fully vacated the premises yet. However, the logo signage outside the store is gone.
It's a shock to see a mall stalwart like Banana Republic vanish, even if smart shoppers knew you could always find similar items far cheaper at sister stores Gap and Old Navy, without leaving the premises. Operating a mall without a Banana Republic, Hot Topic, Cinnabon, and Auntie Anne's should probably be illegal, if it isn't already. Parent company Gap, Inc. said in 2020 that it planned to close 350 Gap and Banana Republic stores by the end of 2023. This location survived that cut, but I see that Banana Republics in Columbus, Ohio and Sacramento, California shuttered earlier this year, so a smaller round of closures appears to be taking place.
8 comments:
It appears that the Chevy Chase location is safe for the moment, they are still open.
All these mainstream mall stores and restaurants closing but the jet flight simulator place soldiers on 😂
Moribund
With Tysons and Tysons 2 so close on the Beltway with so many more options and a more vibrant feel, Westfield Montgomery will continue to struggle in a downward spiral. Brick-and-mortar retail is in a tough spot anyway, even without such strong competition so close.
With the traffic around the Legion bridge, Tysons can take awhile to get to.
Banana Republic closes at Westfield, is replaced by the Banana Republic down in DC. No, not the store, the actions of those in charge.
It is a well known fact to mall employees that Westfield is pushing out retailers, banana republic being one of them, with more mall staple stores to come in the near future.
"Pop up" popping up doesn't look like "pushing out." I seriously doubt MM has such an agenda, think maybe it might be driven by who wants to pay the rent?
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