Victoria’s Secret, The Gap could be closing NJ stores

TRENTON — A day after JC Penney announced plans to close 24 stores, two other retailers say they are planning to do the same.

The Gap, with 20 stores in New Jersey, announced plans to shut 230 stores over the next two years worldwide, or half its stores. It will also spin off it's most successful brand, Old Navy, into it's own company.

The split up, which followed a comprehensive board review, comes as Old Navy has been thriving while Gap still hasn't been able to regain its footing despite numerous attempts to fix the business. Once the go-to place for casual clothing, Gap has been mired in a sales funk for years, hurt by increasing competition from the likes of Target and Amazon.

The parent company of Victoria’s Secret announced during a quarterly earnings call plans to close 53 poor performing stores in 2019 based on sales, according to USA Today. There are 17 Victoria's Secret stores in New Jersey.

No list of stores scheduled to close was disclosed by The Gap or Victoria's Secret.

On a conference call with shareholders, JC Penney CEO Jill Soltau announced that the closure of unprofitable stores came because of a downturn in sales and income.  A full list has not been released by the chain.

A spokesman for JC Penney confirmed to us that the Hamilton Mall in Atlantic County would be the only New Jersey location to close, leaving 11 locations in the state.

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report