Ascena Retail Group submitted a court filing Thursday listing more than 1,100 store closings nationwide, including the two Duluth stores. Besides Justice and Lane Bryant, Ascena is also the parent company of Ann Taylor, Catherines, Loft, and Lou & Grey, owning about 2,800 total locations before the closings.

Ascena said gift cards, merchandise credits and customer rewards programs will remain valid through store closing events.

Duluth-based Maurices was owned by Ascena up until last year, but is no longer owned by the company.

Ascena has been dragged down by debt and weak sales for years. It joins other retailers that have filed for bankruptcy in recent weeks, including Brooks Brothers, Neiman Marcus, J.C. Penney, and J. Crew.

These retailers were already struggling with poor sales, but the forced closure of stores in March to reduce the spread of the coronavirus put them further in peril. Experts believe that there will be another wave of bankruptcies this fall that will include companies that had been healthy before the pandemic struck. 

Ascena’s closures will include all Catherines stores and all stores owned by Ascena brands in Canada. Ascena plans to sell the intellectual property and e-commerce rights of the Catherines name to City Chic.