Nationwide closure to affect local Dressbarn

Kalispell’s Dressbarn store will be among those affected by the announcement last week that the women’s clothing chain expects to close its 650 stores by the end of 2019.

Management at the Dressbarn located in the Spring Prairie Shopping Center was asked not to speak publicly about the upcoming closure. The Kalispell location and the store in the Rimrock Mall in Billings are the only sites in Montana.

Dressbarn’s closure adds to the retail stores that have gone out of business in the Flathead Valley in recent years, including Shopko, Payless Shoes and Herberger’s.

Dressbarn’s owner, Ascena Retail Group Inc., has said it wants to focus on its other brands, such as Ann Taylor and Lane Bryant. An executive said Dressbarn wasn’t profitable enough.

Ascena said in a regulatory filing that that it couldn’t yet determine how much Dressbarn’s closure would cost the Mahwah, New Jersey-based company.

Dressbarn, which has been selling women’s clothing for nearly 60 years, employs about 6,800 people.