THE MONCTON TOMMY HILFIGER WILL BE CLOSING BY THE END OF NOVEMBER. IMAGE: JEFF BOUCHER

It’s the end of an era for the local branch of a fashion giant, as Moncton’s Tommy Hilfiger prepares to permanently close.

Denys Petenko, a supervisor at the Moncton Tommy Hilfiger store, confirmed the chain plans to close in Moncton before the end of November.

“The store is closing this month and our last day open will be November 20th,” Petenko said.

As the chain winds down operations at 62 Wyse Street, Petenko said it’s clearing its racks by hosting an ongoing clearance sale with discounts ranging between 40 and 60 percent.

Petenko told Huddle the store has been busy for the last few days. There’s been a combination of shoppers capitalizing on the sale and disappointment from repeat customers dismayed to see the location closing.

“The customers feel for us right now, they all love the place. They are disappointed and are buying a lot,” he said.

Petenko said he’s not sure how long the sale will go on.

“It can change at any time because they send us updates from the head office,” he noted.

Huddle reached out to two members of communications staff representing Tommy Hilfiger but did not receive a response before our publication deadline.

The Moncton closure is one of many being carried out by Tommy Hilfiger’s parent company, PVH Corp.

Although no other major widespread closures have been announced, Business Insider reported in July that PHV Corp., which also owns fashion giant Calvin and Klein, is closing more than 160 of its Heritage Brands retail stores (stores selling brands like Van Heusen, Izod, Arrow Warner’s Olga, and Geoffrey Bean).

This move will cut 450 jobs across North America in a bid to reduce costs after the negative economic impacts wrought on PHV’s businesses by the pandemic.

Tommy Hilfiger, known for its preppy, sporty, and nautical-style fashion, and named after its New York-based founder, launched in 1985.

The chain, which used to occupy a spot at the CF Champlain mall, moved northwest across the city to the Mapleton Centre in July 2016.

Sam Macdonald is a Reporter with Huddle Today, a content-sharing partner of Acadia Broadcasting.