Bon-Ton identifies stores it plans to close, including 9 in Wisconsin

Struggling retailer Bon-Ton Stores Inc. on Wednesday identified 42 stores it plans to close, including nine in Wisconsin.

Bon-Ton had announced previously it intended to shut down stores in 2018 as part of turnaround plan for the company, which has lost money for six consecutive years and recently missed a $14 million debt payment

Bon-Ton, with dual headquarters in Milwaukee and York, Pa., is the parent company of Boston Store, Younkers and other department store brands.

The 42 closings will eliminate approximately 1,860 jobs, or an average of 44 per store.

Boston Stores are anchors in five malls in the metro Milwaukee area, but the only local store included on the shut-down list is the Boston Store Clearance Center, 5659 S. 27th St., Milwaukee. The 29,000-square-foot clearance center opened in 2013 as the first stand-alone clearance store for Bon-Ton.

The closings include stores operating under all of the company’s nameplates.

“As part of the comprehensive turnaround plan we announced in November, we are taking the next steps in our efforts to move forward with a more productive store footprint,” Bill Tracy, president and chief executive officer for Bon-Ton Stores, said in a statement Wednesday. “Including other recently announced store closures, we expect to close a total of 47 stores in early 2018.

"We remain focused on executing our key initiatives to drive improved performance in an effort to strengthen our capital structure to support the business going forward.”

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In addition to the Boston Store Clearance Center, here are the Wisconsin stores the company says it will close:

Younkers, Fox River Mall, Appleton

Boston Store, Heritage Village, Beaver Dam

Elder-Beerman, Eclipse Center, Beloit

Younkers, Forest Mall, Fond Du Lac

Younkers, Lakeshore Edgewater Plaza, Manitowoc

Younkers, Pine Tree Mall, Marinette

Younkers, Mariner Mall, Superior

Younkers, Wausau Center Mall, Wausau.

Along with the Wisconsin stores, the company also plans to close stores in Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Utah. No state has more stores slated for closing than Wisconsin.

RELATED: See all the stores on the closure list

Bon-Ton said in a statement that it has retained a third-party liquidator, Hilco Merchant Resources, to help manage the store closing sales.

Store closing sales are scheduled to begin Thursday and run for approximately 10 to 12 weeks, the company said.

Employees at the locations that are closing "will be offered the opportunity to interview for available positions at other store locations," according to the company statement.

Details of the turnaround plan were revealed in a regulatory disclosure Monday. The plan stated the portfolio of Bon-Ton stores "contains a sizable portion of poorly performing stores that contribute minimal value to the organization." Some were in "dying" malls, according to the plan document, "and suffering from overwhelming competitive pressures."

The plan said there are an additional 20-plus stores that should be considered for inclusion on a "watch list" to monitor for signs of further deterioration.

Bon-Ton operates 260 stores, including nine furniture galleries and four clearance centers, in 24 states in the Northeast, Midwest and Great Plains under the Bon-Ton, Bergner’s, Boston Store, Carson’s, ElderBeerman, Herberger’s and Younkers nameplates.

The 47 closings represent almost a fifth of Bon-Ton's stores.

Department stores have been among the hardest hit retailers amid growing competition from online merchants and fewer consumer visits to malls.

Bon-Ton, which has total debt of about $1.1 billion, is working with debt holders on a plan to restructure its finances either in or out of bankruptcy court.