West Marine to close 59 stores, including Maryland locations
West Marine said it is closing select stores in maryland and across the country after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company is shutting its Raleigh, North Carolina, store at 3027 Capital Blvd. near Huntleigh Drive, along with its location in Oriental.
Nationwide, 59 stores are affected. West Marine said it has more than 200 stores and roughly 2,600 workers, and it is offering discounts as it prepares to shut down the Raleigh location.
West Marine Raleigh store
The Raleigh store is one of two North Carolina locations West Marine said it is closing. The company said customers will not be able to exchange or return items bought from the Triangle store, but it will continue to accept gift cards.
West Marine also listed other North Carolina stores on its website in Cornelius, Morehead City, Nags Head, New Bern, Washington and Wilmington. The company said the closures are part of an ongoing Chapter 11 restructuring.
Paulee Day filing details
CEO Paulee Day said in the May 18 bankruptcy filing that severe weather, the end of the coronavirus pandemic, inflation and long-term leases affected boating habits and the company’s finances. West Marine said it had more than $500 million in outstanding debt obligations.
In a June 16 email, FTI Consulting said it was not able to comment on specific timing of store closures or future plans for those stores or others. West Marine later said, “We recently made the difficult decision to close select store locations” and added, “While this change wasn’t easy, our commitment to you hasn’t changed one bit — West Marine is open, stocked and ready to help with everything you need to get back on the water.”
Maryland closures
West Marine said other closures are planned in Alabama, California, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. The company said, “This decision reflects our effort to align our store footprint with our current business needs, while continuing to evaluate our portfolio in coordination with landlords.”
For customers, the immediate change is local: the Raleigh store is heading toward closure, the Oriental store is closing, and the company is still operating while it works through the bankruptcy process.
