WASHINGTON — Men’s Wearhouse, which dropped Jos. A. Bank’s famous “buy one, get (inset number) free” sales shortly after acquiring it, miscalculated the impact of that move.
After an exodus of customers and falling sales, the parent company of both suit and tie chains says it is closing 80 to 90 Jos. A. Bank stores and shuttering every Jos. A. Bank outlet.
Parent company, Tailored Brands, has brought back some “buy one” sales to Jos. A. Bank stores, but its sales still fell almost 32 percent last quarter.
“We remain very disappointed by the weak Jos. A. Bank results,” said Tailored Brands Chief Executive Doug Ewert in a statement. “Our transition away from unsustainable promotions have proven significantly more difficult and expensive than we expected.”
The company will also close all of its Men’s Wearhouse outlet stores. It says the outlet stores were not profitable.
Jos. A. Bank started as a small tailor shop in Baltimore in 1905. It now has more than 600 stores nationwide, including 42 stores in the Washington-Baltimore region.
Tailored Brands did not say which Jos. A. Bank locations would close.