The Marshalls department store in Mondawmin Mall will close Jan. 12, becoming the second major retailer to exit the Northwest Baltimore shopping hub.
A manager at the 21,000-square-foot store confirmed the closing Thursday morning, saying she didn't know why the store was closing as it is a "corporate decision." A representative at TJX Cos. Inc. — Marshall's parent company — later provided more detail.
"We are always assessing and reviewing our real estate strategies, and our decision to close this store reflects that thinking," the representative said in an email.
The store is located at 2010 Gwynns Falls Parkway in Baltimore and opened in March 2011.
The closure comes 10 months after the Target at Mondawmin Mall also shuttered following nine years in business serving an area of the city with already sparse retail options. Stores remaining in the mall include Ross Dress for Less, Payless Shoes and a Shoppers supermarket.
Representatives at Brookfield Properties Retail Group, the real estate investment firm that owns the mall, could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Target (NYSE: TGT) closed its 127,000-square-foot Mondawmin location in February, much to the dismay of residents and Mayor Catherine Pugh. She tasked city officials with helping the retailer find a replacement to fill the space. Baltimore Development Co. President William H. Cole IV said in June that he and Mayor Pugh had met with several potential tenants, yet for now the space remains vacant.
Target's closure was one of 11 underperforming stores the retailer closed at the same time.
TJX Cos. (NYSE: TJX) has not announced any mass closings. As of Nov. 3, the end of the company’s third quarter, TJX Cos. operated a total of 4,296 stores in nine countries, including 1,247 T.J. Maxx stores, 1,091 Marshalls stores and 745 HomeGoods.
Marshalls' Baltimore stores include one downtown on East Pratt Street and another on Reisterstown Road in Northwest Baltimore.
The discount department store chain has seen strong sales in recent years as bargain shopping for designer clothing and home goods has gained popularity. TJX reported in November net sales for the third quarter increased 12 percent to $9.8 billion. Consolidated comparable store sales increased 7 percent over the same period last year.
This story will be updated with more information as it becomes available.