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Gymboree

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Gymboree Group, Inc.
Company typeSubsidiary
IndustryRetail (original), eCommerce
Founded1976; 48 years ago (1976)
ProductsChildren's clothes & Toys
ParentThe Children's Place (2019–present)
Websitewww.Gymboree.com

Gymboree is a sub brand of The Children's Place. Gymboree began with operating retail stores between the early 1970s and the later 2010s. It was founded by Joan Barnes.[1]

History

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Early years

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Crazy8 inside Southern Park Mall (Closed 2019)

In 1986, the company opened a chain of clothing stores named Gymboree. Gymboree stores offered coordinating children's clothing. The sizes ranged from newborn to size ten. As of January 2019, it operated 380 Gymboree stores, 154 Gymboree outlets, 147 Janie & Jack stores, 253 Crazy 8 stores, and 11 Crazy 8 outlets in the U.S. and Canada.[2]

Gymboree store at the Scarborough Town Centre in Toronto in 2008

Crazy 8 was started in August 2007. It featured lower-priced clothing and was Gymboree's direct competitor for The Children's Place and Old Navy.

In 2010, Bain Capital acquired the company for US$1.8 billion.[3]

In June 2017, Gymboree announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.[4] In September 2017, the company emerged from bankruptcy.[5][6]

In November 2018, it was reported that Gymboree would file for bankruptcy for the second time in 14 months, and as a result, Gymboree announced plans to discontinue the Crazy 8 brand after the holiday season.[7]

On January 17, 2019, Gymboree filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and eliminated all Gymboree, Gymboree Outlet, and Crazy 8 brick-and-mortar formats as a result. The company sold its Janie & Jack brand to Gap, Inc.[8]

Play & Music Centers

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Gymboree Play & Music in London

In July 2016, The Gymboree Corporation sold the Gymboree Play & Music business to Zeavion Holding, a private company with a focus on the education and entertainment sectors. Gymboree Play & Music is now completely separate from the Gymboree Corporation and is operating parent-child play classes for ages 0–5. As of 2023, Play & Music operates in over 40 countries and has more than 733 centers internationally.[9]

Sub Brand

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On June 24, 2019, Gymboree and Crazy 8's assets were acquired by The Children's Place, who announced that the former would become a digitally native sub brand with store-within-a-store locations at The Children's Place stores.[10] It was announced on January 30, 2020, that The Children's Place would debut Gymboree in February that year, featuring an "early access" program that would allow early access to the first 10,000 customers who register a spot.[11]

Lawsuits

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In November 2005, Gymboree settled a lawsuit relating to overtime compensation in Riverside, California for $2.3 million. The lawsuit alleged that Gymboree did not pay mandatory overtime or provide required meal breaks.[12]

References

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  1. ^ "History of Gymboree Corporation – FundingUniverse". www.fundinguniverse.com. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  2. ^ "Gymboree's second bankruptcy will kill the brand". CNN. Archived from the original on September 23, 2019. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  3. ^ "Bain Buys Gymboree for $1.8 Billion". dealbook.nytimes.com. October 11, 2010. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
  4. ^ Fu, Lisa. "Gymboree Will Close More Than 375 Stores After Filing for Bankruptcy". Fortune. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  5. ^ "Gymboree emerges from bankruptcy". Chain Store Age. September 29, 2017. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  6. ^ "Gymboree is closing 350 stores – here's the full list". finance.yahoo.com. July 12, 2017. Retrieved September 22, 2019.
  7. ^ "Gymboree to close Crazy 8 stores and cut back namesake stores; names CEO". Chain Store Age. December 5, 2018. Retrieved December 6, 2018.
  8. ^ "SF-based Gymboree plans to shut down after second bankruptcy filing". San Francisco Chronicle. January 17, 2019.
  9. ^ "Gymboree Agrees To Sell Play & Music Business To ZEAVION". www.prnewswire.com (press release). Retrieved January 3, 2018.
  10. ^ Gymboree (June 24, 2019). "Help us bring back the Gymboree you loved!". Twitter. Retrieved November 27, 2019.
  11. ^ Wilson, Marianne (January 30, 2020). "Gymboree makes its retail comeback". Chain Store Age.
  12. ^ "Gymboree settles overtime suit for $2.3M". San Francisco Business Times. November 21, 2005. Retrieved April 3, 2012.
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