Saks Closing Club Libby Lu Specialty Stores

All Club Libby Lu stores, the Saks-owned tween retail concept, are expected to be shut down by May 2009, says the company.

Aimed at girls aged 4-14, Club Libby Lu currently runs 78 stand-alones in U.S. malls and 20 in-store units in stores formerly owned by the Saks Department Store Group.

"Club Libby Lu is an innovative concept that was a better strategic fit with our traditional department store business," says Steve Sadove, chairman and chief executive officer of Saks Inc. "Discontinuing the operations of Club Libby Lu is the appropriate decision so that we can focus 100% of our time and resources on executing the strategies of our core Saks Fifth Avenue business."

Club Libby Lu was acquired in 2003 to grow its Saks Department Store Group, which was recently sold. The tween store reportedly generated revenues of approximately $60 million by fiscal year's end, Feb. 2, 2008. About 1,700 Club Libby Lu associates will be affected by the closings.