The sign in front of two GAP store in Wantagh says simply “we’ll miss you.”
The global clothing chain is shuttering its GAP and GAP Kids stores in Wantagh’s Willow Wood Shoppes at the end of business Friday. Both stores have operated at the 57,000-square-foot shopping center located off Wantagh Avenue for more than 20 years.
The store manager of the Wantagh GAP, who identified herself as Phyllis, said all marked-off items are 50 percent off Thursday and Friday. The GAP Kids store has a sale of 25 percent off all marked-off items before closing for good at 4 p.m. Friday.
Phyllis did not provide details on reasons for the closings, referring all questions on that matter to GAP’s corporate office.
"We’re constantly reevaluating our real estate portfolio to ensure we have the right stores in the right places to best serve our customers," said GAP spokeswoman Tamara Rosenkranz in a statement resonding to the Wantagh closings. "Over the next two years, we’ll continue to look store-by-store at our specialty fleet to determine which stores meet the standards we’ve set for our brand."
On Thursday, San Fransisco-based GAP, Inc. announced that its fourth quarter earnings fell 40 percent.
The GAP closings create additional vacancies for Willow Wood Shoppes, which is owned by Garden City-based Breslin Realty. A Rite Aid in the shopping center, which is located within the Levittown School District, closed late in 2010 and a new retailer for the 11,500 square-foot building is being eyed.
Breslin Realty CEO Wilbur Breslin could not be immediately reached for comment on possible replacement tenants for the two GAP stores.
