Tailored Brands to close Jos. A. Bank stores in cost-cutting move

Tailored Brands Inc., the parent company of Men's Warehouse and Jos. A. Bank men's clothing chains, announced plans to close about 250 stores this year as part of a cost-cutting push.

The Houston-based company said it will shut 80 to 90 standard Jos. A. Bank stores, as well as 58 outlet stores.

Between 100 and 110 MW Tux stores also will be eliminated, part of a shift of tuxedo rentals to its full-line stores and partner Macy's Inc.

Tailored Brands also is reducing expenses by about $50 million by slimming down its operations and overhead.

Specific store closings were not announced. Jos. A. Bank has 21 stores in the suburbs, according to its website, with outlet stores in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin, and Michigan City, Indiana. Men's Warehouse has about 30 locations in the suburbs, including an outlet store at Fashion Outlets of Chicago in Rosemont, according to the store's website.

Tailored Brands, the largest retailer specializing in men's suits, is scrambling to align its two major divisions. While sales have been growing at Men's Wearhouse, Jos. A. Bank faces a customer exodus.

Last year, management abandoned Jos. A. Bank's "buy one suit, get three free" style promotions, irking longtime shoppers. That sent the chain into free fall. Jos. A Bank's same-store sales plunged 32 percent last quarter, compared with a 4.3 percent gain for Men's Wearhouse.

Tailored Brands, which took that name when it adopted a holding-company structure earlier this year, said streamlining its stores will weigh on its profit forecast for the year. It now expects earnings of $1.55 to $1.85 a share, excluding some items, down from as much as $2 a share previously.

The retailer is "tailoring down to a suitable size," Cowen & Co. analyst John Kernan said in a report on Thursday.

Tailored Brands posted a loss of 30 cents a share, excluding some items, in the quarter ended Jan. 30. Still, that wasn't as bad a result as analysts expected.

They had projected a loss 37 cents on average, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Sales fell to $825.7 million, missing the $838.6 million estimated by analysts.