Clothing retailer Bebe closing all its stores, including one in Fresno

Clothing chain Bebe says it expects to close all its stores by the end of May, making it the latest retail casualty of the migration to online shopping.

Bebe has one store in the central San Joaquin Valley, in the outdoor portion of Fashion Fair mall.

The Brisbane, California-based chain had said earlier this month it would close 21 stores and “explore options” for the remaining locations. In a regulatory filing, it said it expects to recognize an impairment charge of about $20 million as a result of the closing of all its stores. The chain had recently said it had more than 130 retail stores and more than 30 outlet stores in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. It also offers branded products elsewhere and operates bebe.com.

The closure means yet another change for the outdoor portion of Fashion Fair. The mall will lose clothing and housewares store Anthropologie when it moves to Fig Garden Village. The mall is gaining a new tenant with Ulta, the cosmetics store which will open in the former Urban Outfitters spot.

Others chains that have shuttered all their stores or retrenched include Abercrombie & Fitch, BCBG, The Limited and Wet Seal. Department store operators have also suffered, with Macy’s and J.C. Penney among those that are trimming locations.

Bebe Stores Inc. started in 1976 and describes itself as staying true to its “assertive, provocative origins.” The company says its name is inspired by Shakespeare’s words, “To be, or not to be.”

Bee reporter Bethany Clough contributed to this report.

This story was originally published April 21, 2017 at 2:59 PM with the headline "Clothing retailer Bebe closing all its stores, including one in Fresno."