Liz Pulls Mexx's Plug • Gap Shutters Forth & Towne

Just the other day The Shophound was walking past the big Mexx store at 650 Fifth Avenue and thinking to ourselves that we had no interest whatsoever in  what might be inside. Apparently, we are not alone in that sentiment, because parent Liz Claiborne has chosen to close all remaining U.S. Mexx stores. The Dutch company, which was purchased by Liz in 2001, continues to be a rousing success in Europe, but with little promotion aside from two prominent New York stores, the brand was never fully launched in the States and failed to generate any buzz on its own. The behemoth parent company will be focusing its resources on promoting Lucky Brand Jeans, Juicy Couture, C&C Califirnia, Sigrid Olsen and the recently acquired Kate Spade. The closure leaves Liz with a highly covetable 9,000 square foot piece of Fifth Avenue real estate which had been converted from a Liz Claiborne brand flagship when the company purchased Mexx. We have yet to learn whether the company will once again convert the space or dump it, though other smaller locations like the SoHo unit could more easily be handed over to their other brands.
On a related note, Gap Inc. has announced that it's recently launched new store concept, Forth & Towne will be shutting its 19 doors as well. If you are not familiar with this retailer it's probably because they hadn't opened a unit in New York City, preferring to launch the moderate, middle-of-the-road women's shops mostly in suburban malls. As the company is practically in crisis mode, it would seem prudent to axe the still small division whose reception had been lukewarm at best. None of this bodes particularly well for Piperlime, Gap's recently launched online shoe retailer, though that divisions considerably lower overhead might save it as Gap tries once again to reinvent its core brands.