I can hear the hearts of tweens breaking now. Thanks Sheena from Scene Now for the news tip. Libby Lu is inside Belk at the Mall at Barnes Crossing. We’re tracking down more details.
From AP:
NEW YORK (AP) — Luxury retailer Saks Inc. said Wednesday it will discontinue its Club Libby Lu specialty store business to focus on its core Saks Fifth Avenue business and will record charges in the third and fourth quarters for the store closings. (Read the press release)
Saks expects to finish closing all the stores by the end of its first fiscal quarter ending May 2.
Club Libby Lu, which Saks bought in 2003, caters to girls between the ages of 4 and 12.
“Discontinuing the operations of Club Libby Lu is the appropriate decision so that we can focus 100 percent of our time and resources on executing the strategies of our core Saks Fifth Avenue business,” Saks Chief Executive Steve Sadove said in a statement.
Club Libby Lu employs about 1,700 associates, who will be offered appropriate severance packages.
For the fiscal year ended Feb. 2, Club Libby Lu generated revenue of about $60 million.
My 2 little girls will be devastated to hear that Libby Lu’s is closing. (Although my checkbook is grinning)
Until Next Time…
Good. I’ve hated that store since the first time I saw it in Northpark Mall in Ridgeland years ago. Music blaring, making toddlers to look all hoochie, it made me thank God that I had a son and would never have to worry about having to step foot in such a place.
Amen, Shopper. People wonder why little girls are being sexualized at such a young age -well duh…people never fail to amaze me. My daughter was outraged last summer – “why in the world would you make a two piece bathing suit for a SIX MONTH OLD baby???” SO glad that place is finally being closed down.
Right winsome, it’s the very young girls and toddlers that get me. Not 12 or 13 year old girls. I’ve seen toddlers who look like they haven’t been walking too long, come out of their looking like Vegas showgirls. Of course, it’s not the child’s fault, it’s the idiot parents.
First off, let me say that my little girls are 2 and 4, and because they LOVE going to libby Lu does NOT mean that they are sexualized in any way, shape, or form. It is a place where little girls can go to dress up, and sing and dance. They have a positive atmosphere in there, And what is so wrong with a 6 month old wearing a bikini, both of my little girls did???? Every parent has their own opinions, so dont get me wrong, i am not saying that you are wrong and i am right. But i will in fact tell you straight up that i am not an Idiotic parent. (you might want to think before you speak/write on here)
Until Next Time…Amy Giorgenti
First off, let me say that my little girls are 2 and 4, and because they LOVE going to libby Lu does NOT mean that they are sexualized in any way, shape, or form. It is a place where little girls can go to dress up, and sing and dance. They have a positive atmosphere in there, And what is so wrong with a 6 month old wearing a bikini, both of my little girls did???? Every parent has their own opinions, so dont get me wrong, i am not saying that you are wrong and i am right. But i will in fact tell you straight up that i am not an Idiotic parent. (you might want to think before you speak/write on here)
Until Next Time…Amy Giorgenti
Well Amy, if your daughters don’t come out of there looking like showgirls, then I guess my comment shouldn’t offend you. I’m speaking about parents who DO allow it. You might want to use a little common sense before you jump on my case and not assume I’m talking about every parent and child who has been in Libby Lu.
I am not jumping on anyone’s case; Just stating my opinion…Some people might think that they put too much make up on the girls that go there, but thats just ones own opinion. They put alot of make up on my girls, but who cares, it comes right off in the bath a few hours later! Its one of those things though, if you want your kids to go there, then take them, if not, dont, but people should not say anything because parents choose to let their kids go there. They like it. Point blank!
Until Next Time…Amy Giorgenti
Sorry, I’m going to stick with my opion that nothing positive comes from painting toddlers to look like little showgirls. You don’t have to like it, but you don’t have the right to tell me that I shouldn’t say anything about it. Unless I’m breaking some TOS here, I don’t think I’m out of line. So we’ll just have to agree to disagree.
agree to disagree
sounds fine with me!
Until Next Time…Amy
My little girl who is 6 loves libby lu too! I hate to see it go! Someone could make a KILLING if they opened up a store like that in the mall since libby lu is closing. As far as putting makeup on the little girls I don’t feel that sends a negative image to little girls. For me it is bonding time with my daughter. To me there is no difference in going to libby lu and seeing parents freak out during a tball or coach pitch game. Just my opinion….to each his own!
well spoken Laura
Until Next Time…Amy
I see both points. I let my nieces dress up and put on makeup but in the privacy of our homes. I would never let them out in public wearing something that made them look like hoochies. But sexualizing young girls can be a taken in a different outlook for everyone. It’s a shame, but there are boys and men who like to look at young girls. And to display our little girls in anything that makes them stand out like prosti-tots only makes them a stronger target for sexual predators. And I’ve seen some of them looking as I walk down the mall with my nieces even though they are ages 3,4 and 8. It’s scary and unless they do something first there isn’t anything the security or police can do about it.
For the love of Libby Lu… can’t we all just get along??!!
Gee, leave for 45 minutes, and it all goes to heck!
OK, ladies and gentlemen, if you’ll call off the dogs, we’ll keep this post up. If not, we’ll have to shut it down, and we’d hate to do that.
So, from the Buzz, if you can’t say anything nice, then don’t.
Please.
Thanks!
Sorry biz, I guess when one person has an opposing opinion, it’s attack time. Is there any way you can delete some of the latter posts? I’d hate for them to stay up and ruin the thread.
LOL, sorry once again Bizz. I knew it was a matter of time. Just having a little fun. I really don’t care one way or the other about the place.
We appreciate everyone’s participation, of course, and we know opinions can vary.
Not trying to censor, but trying to keep it relatively nice. Jokes and sarcasm are fine, but there’s a fine line that gets crossed every now and then.
And I will be deleting some of the ugliness.
Thanks!
so my post gets deleted but the original with the exact same word remains?
weak sauce
Interesting where that fine line gets drawn, huh BWM ???
I seem to remember a colorful mexican restaurant comment I made being censored, when others were talking about a strip joint in Alabama.
Sorry, but you lost me on that one, BWM …
i repeated prosti-tots……..you erased it.
hardly over the line other than in the humor section…but wasnt some new lingo i threw out there.
Golfer – if it makes you feel any better, my friends and I (Carlie this time) have had many off-line laughs about your Mexican restaurant comment.
As far as Libby Lu, I wonder how long it takes to keep up the glitter bar in there. I’ve been in a few times and I always leave covered in the stuff. I must be a mess at closing time.
Biz, you deleted BWM’s post, but not the original comment. BWM just repeated it, and said it was funny.
getitoverwith
November 7, 2008 at 9:24 am
I see both points. I let my nieces dress up and put on makeup but in the privacy of our homes. I would never let them out in public wearing something that made them look like hoochies. But sexualizing young girls can be a taken in a different outlook for everyone. It’s a shame, but there are boys and men who like to look at young girls. And to display our little girls in anything that makes them stand out like prosti-tots only makes them a stronger target for sexual predators. And I’ve seen some of them looking as I walk down the mall with my nieces even though they are ages 3,4 and 8. It’s scary and unless they do something first there isn’t anything the security or police can do about it.
Glad I could amuse you.
I actually drove by the place in LA. Its even funnier plastered on the front of a building.
Seems like just the place to have your kid’s b-day party !!!
If a place with a rat as a mascot can do as well as it does, you never know …
Speaking of mascots and kids stores, Toys R Us (home of the giraffe) has stepped up the store since my last visit. I was not impressed at all when I stopped in last year. But, I went back recently and was pleasantly surprised. Wonder how prices will be this Christmas.
P.S. Our education reporter and in-house parenting guru is continuing the Libby Lu conversation on her blog.
http://ginnymiller.wordpress.com/2008/11/07/libby-lus-closing-its-tupelo-store/
I want to hear BMW’s Mexican resturant comment… I must not have been here then..
I think it was fulltilt’s comment. Pink burrito (except it was another mexican dish starting with t).
taco
I know bwm. Just didn’t want to get deleted.
i agree with amy