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Chattanooga-based mall owner CBL extends debt talks to next week; hit by bankruptcy of Ann Taylor, Loft, Justice stores

Staff photo by Mike Pare / Shoppers walk in and out of one of the entrances at Hamilton Place mall on Tuesday. Mall owner CBL Properties says 75% of stores inside the mall have reopened. Staff photo by Mike Pare / Shoppers walk in and out of one of the entrances at Hamilton Place mall on Tuesday. Mall owner CBL Properties says 75% of stores inside the mall have reopened.

By Mike Pare July 23, 2020 3 min read

While mall operator CBL & Associates remains in talks with lenders over its debt, the company received a blow Thursday as one of the top retailers in its centers filed for bankruptcy.

Ascena Retail Group Inc., which runs Ann Taylor, Loft, Lane Bryant, Justice, and Catherines stores, became the latest retailer to seek Chapter 11 bankruptcy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

In Chattanooga, Catherines is to shut its store outside Hamilton Place mall, according to a list of closures obtained by USA Today. Also, Justice is to close at Northgate Mall, the list said.

Across Chattanooga-based CBL’s national network of shopping centers, Ascena is No. 6 on the company’s top 25 list of retailers by revenue, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

At the end of 2019, Ascena had 114 stores in CBL centers, leasing 544,193 square feet and providing 1.54% of revenues, the filing said.