The Children’s Place stores at Summit Mall in Fairlawn and three other Northeast Ohio locations have begun going-out-of-business sales ahead of a nationwide closure of the children’s apparel chain, the Akron Beacon Journal reported on November 13. The sales cover every Children’s Place location in the United States and Canada, according to a news release from a communications firm representing Great American Holdings, also known as GA Group, cited by the Beacon Journal.
The four Northeast Ohio locations named by the Beacon Journal are the Summit Mall store in Fairlawn, Aurora Farms Premium Outlets in Aurora, SouthPark Mall in Strongsville and Beachwood Place in Beachwood. Managers at the Summit Mall, Aurora Farms and SouthPark locations declined on November 13 to provide comment about sale and closing dates to the Beacon Journal, and the Beachwood Place store could not be reached by phone, the Beacon Journal reported.
The sale is being run by a joint venture between Great American Holdings LLC, Tiger Group, SB360 Capital Partners, Gordon Brothers and Hilco Global, the Beacon Journal reported, citing the GA Group release. The joint venture’s announcement follows approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey, according to the release cited by the Beacon Journal.
For families, the immediate numbers are the discounts and the gift-card deadline. Discounts are beginning at 30% to 60% off all children’s apparel and footwear, as well as accessories and holiday merchandise, the release said, in reporting by the Beacon Journal. As the sale continues, executives behind the joint venture expect items to be marked down further, the Beacon Journal reported.
Gift cards carry a hard cutoff. The Children’s Place gift cards must be redeemed by December 12 and will not be accepted beyond that date, according to the release cited by the Beacon Journal. All sales are final, the release said, and the stores will remain in operation during their standard business hours while supplies last.
Joe Malfitano, president and head of Retail, Merchant and Industrial Solutions at GA Group, said in a prepared statement reported by the Beacon Journal that the sale “represents a unique opportunity for families to access substantial savings on a trusted children’s apparel brand during one of the busiest shopping periods of the year.” Malfitano said in the statement, as reported by the Beacon Journal, that the joint venture has extensive experience managing large-scale retail disposition programs and is committed to conducting an orderly and efficient process while delivering value to customers.
The Children’s Place has owned the rights to Gymboree since 2019 and launched Gymboree product in stores and online the following year, according to The Children’s Place website, as noted by the Beacon Journal. The closing sales therefore cover a brand many Northeast Ohio parents and grandparents have shopped under two names — Children’s Place and Gymboree — for children’s clothing, school outfits and holiday outfits.
The firms running the sale are familiar names in Ohio retail liquidations. Firms involved in the joint venture, including GA Group, Gordon Brothers and Tiger Group, were involved in the 2025 bankruptcy of Hudson-based Joann and the liquidation of its assets, the Beacon Journal reported. GA Group and Joann’s term lenders purchased Joann in a February 2025 auction, and Tiger Group led the disposition of Joann’s real estate, inventory and intellectual property alongside GA Group, according to the Beacon Journal.
Simon Property Group, which owns Summit Mall, could not be immediately reached for comment, the Beacon Journal reported on November 13. No closing dates for the individual Northeast Ohio stores were announced in the release, and store managers did not provide them to the Beacon Journal, so families planning a final trip should expect the stores to trade during standard hours while stock lasts rather than counting on a published last day.
The closure lands in a busy season for Summit County families. It arrives the same weekend that Akron Children’s Hospital’s Holiday Tree Festival opens in Akron — covered by NewsForce247 in Akron Children’s Tree Festival Opens Saturday With 154 Trees for a Good Cause — and as local giving takes shape in Trailhead Foundation Unveils First Funds From Summa Health Sale in Akron.
What we know — and what we’re still waiting on
What we know: going-out-of-business sales have begun at all Children’s Place stores in the U.S. and Canada, including the four Northeast Ohio locations above; discounts start at 30% to 60%; gift cards must be used by December 12; and all sales are final. What we’re still waiting on: a closing date for each Northeast Ohio store, what will replace the Summit Mall, SouthPark, Aurora Farms and Beachwood spaces, and any information about affected employees, none of which was provided in the release or to the Beacon Journal on November 13.
What happens next for shoppers is straightforward and time-limited: use gift cards well before December 12, expect the deepest discounts later in the sale but the best selection now, and check sizes early for holiday outfits. For the malls, the next step will be leasing announcements for the vacated spaces, which NewsForce247 will follow as Simon Property Group and the other property owners respond.
Photo: Nick81aku, CC BY