Bugle Boy to close local outlet store

February 17, 2001

Bugle Boy announced Friday it is closing 215 clothing stores nationwide, including one at Prime Outlets at Hagerstown.

The parent company, which is based in Simi Valley, Calif., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy Feb. 1.

On Wednesday, a U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge in Los Angeles allowed a three-company partnership to liquidate $144 million in Bugle Boy inventory.

Chapter 11 bankruptcy allows a business to get relief from its debts while it reorganizes. It can continue to operate during that time.

After the court ruling, stores hung signs that said they will close.

It is uncertain when that will happen, said Jeff Duhamel, a spokesman for The Ozer Group, one of the companies overseeing the liquidation.

"However long it takes," he said. The prices on merchandise will be discounted.

Duhamel said the average store has five to 15 employees, but he didn't have specific information about individual stores.

An employee at the Prime Retails branch who didn't want to be identified said there is one full-time employee there and four part-time employees.

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