The Children’s Place has announced it will close 300 stores during the next two years following losses tied to the COVID-19 pandemic and the company’s desire to reduce its brick and mortar footprint. In an earnings conference call last week, the children’s clothing retailer cited an increase in e-commerce as one of the factors in the decision to close the stores, many of which are located in malls. Around 200 stores are expected to be closed by the end of 2020, with an additional 100 slated to close in 2021. he Children’s Place has 920 stores in the U.S. and Canada. “This initiative will greatly reduce our reliance on our brick-and-mortar channel and we are targeting our mall-based, brick-and-mortar portfolio to represent less than 25% of our revenue entering fiscal 2022,” Jane Elfers, president and CEO said in a statement. The company announced during an earnings call Thursday that net sales fell 38% in the first quarter of 2020. However, online sales increased by 12% to approximately 53% of total net sales. Only about 6% of the company’s stores had reopened as of last week following closings due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company said it expects most of its locations will be reopened by July 1. According to Mike Scarpa, chief financial officer and chief operating officer, the company will hold liquidation sales at 50 locations within the next six weeks. “We expect that a good portion of them will open and liquidate and then will close, depending on the inventories that are left in the store,” CFO and COO Mike Scarpa said in the conference call.

SECAUCUS, N.J., June 25, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. (Nasdaq:PLCE), the largest pure-play children's specialty apparel retailer in North America, today announced that it has signed a ten-year franchise agreement with Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co. SJSC, known as "Fashion Retail", to open stores across Saudi Arabia. The first two stores are scheduled to open during the second quarter of 2012. Jane Elfers, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Children's Place, stated, "We are very excited to begin our international expansion beyond North America with a number of stores opening in Saudi Arabia this year. The Middle East retail landscape is very well developed and has high potential for our brand. We look forward to working with Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co, which has a proven track record of launching and operating international brands in Saudi Arabia." Commenting on the launch, Mr. Simon Marshall, Chief Executive Officer of Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co. SJSC, stated, "We have long admired The Children's Place and are excited by the opportunity both to partner with the brand, and to launch our first stores this summer. We believe The Children's Place will fill a white space within the childrenswear market by providing a new product offering combining fashion, quality and value." About The Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc. The Children's Place is the largest pure-play children's specialty apparel retailer in North America. The Company designs, contracts to manufacture and sells fashionable, high-quality merchandise at value prices, primarily under the proprietary "The Children's Place" brand name. As of April 28, 2012, the Company operated 1,062 stores and an online store at www.childrensplace.com. About Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co. SJSC Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co. SJSC is a leading, publicly-listed retail conglomerate headquartered in Saudi Arabia. The company has retail operations in Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Morocco, Egypt, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and the U.S.A. The company partners with 70+ brands across 1,200+ stores. http://www.fawazalhokairfashion.com/ Forward Looking Statements This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements regarding future circumstances, including statements relating to the Company's positioning, and forecasts regarding store openings. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's current expectations and assumptions and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially. Some of these risks and uncertainties are described in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the "Risk Factors" section of its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended January 28, 2012. Included among the risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and performance to differ materially are the risk that the Company will be unsuccessful in gauging fashion trends and changing consumer preferences, the risks resulting from the highly competitive nature of the Company's business and its dependence on consumer spending patterns, which may be affected by the continued weakness in the economy or by other factors such as increases in the cost of gasoline and food, the risk that the cost of raw materials or energy prices will increase beyond current expectations or that the Company is unable to offset cost increases through value engineering or price increases, and the uncertainty of weather patterns. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date they were made. The Company undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. The inclusion of any statement in this release does not constitute an admission by the Company or any other person that the events or circumstances described in such statement are material. CONTACT: The Children's Place: Jane Singer, Vice President, Investor Relations (201) 453-6955 Fawaz A. AlHokair & Co: Brendan Dorrian, Personal Envoy to the Chairman and Head of Business Development +447778897111 Children's Place Retail Stores, Inc.