In yet another sign of the tough times facing the industry, Coldwater Creek on Jan. 8 eliminated 65 positions companywide. The women’s apparel cataloger/retailer laid off 51 people at its corporate headquarters in Sandpoint, ID, six in Coeur d’Alene, ID, two each in Seattle and New York, and four in other locations.
Founded as a catalog in 1984, the $1.05 billion Coldwater Creek today operates more than 300 stores and a Website. The cuts will save the merchant about $6 million, the company said. Calls to Coldwater Creek were not returned by press time.
“Coldwater Creek is refining our focus as a brand,” said president/CEO Dan Griesemer in a statement. “The company is evolving from one that has successfully focused on its service operations and channels of distribution to a brand that is more intensely focused on its products and customer experience. The refinement to our strategy, combined with right sizing our resources will position us for sustained growth in the future.”
This is not the first time Coldwater had massive post-holiday-season layoffs, however. The company laid off 220 employees in January 2002. About 120 workers lost their jobs because Coldwater closed its distribution center in Sandpoint and consolidated all fulfillment in its Parkersburg, WV, facility; Coldwater also cut 80 retail jobs and 20 salaried positions in its headquarters.