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Children’s Place struggles to stay afloat

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Children's Place struggles to stay afloat, Children's clothing store

You have probably seen articles circulating online about a popular children’s clothing store struggling to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic. Children’s Place is closing one-third of its stores across North America, and the crazy sales have begun! You can find graphic tees as low as $1.99 and jeans for less than $10.00; they also offer free shipping. Combine these deals with coupons, and you could potentially buy your child(ren) a whole new wardrobe for half the cost! Or can you?

 

Children’s Place: deals or duds?

 I placed an order a few weeks ago that was successfully processed, but shipping is majorly delayed. We are all aware that carrier services have slowed down due to the current pandemic, so I understand. Boys jeans for $9.75 are worth the wait. I started to get concerned, though, when Children’s Place canceled part of my order because they were “unable to fulfill some items” I had bought. How could they not fulfill an order that had already been purchased? The items were available when I bought them so what happened? Perhaps it was a fluke? I did a little digging online and found that I was not the only one with this issue. Numerous complaints are spilling into BBB, Consumer Affairs, Trust Pilot, and even the comment section on the Children’s Place Facebook page. People are not getting their orders, and they are not happy about it.

 

 Pandemic impacts Children’s Place

 It is no surprise that Children’s Place has dropped the ball while scrambling to fulfill orders. CEO Jane Elfer noted that their online sales are up 300% due to COVID-19. With online shopping at an all-time high AND excellent deals on children’s clothes, I am amazed their website has not crashed. But they are not the only ones struggling to meet consumer demands. Pier 1 Imports is fighting the same losing battle—increased sales and delayed shipping…or completely unable to fulfill some orders altogether. I do not think the pandemic is to blame for Pier 1 Imports’ chapter 11. However, it is probably the final KO for this already overpriced home furnishings store. We will survive without Pier 1 Imports, especially when there are more affordable ways to decorate your home.

 

 Closing stores to stay open

 Out of their 920 locations, Children’s Place plans to close 200 of their stores by the end of 2020, and another 100 stores will close in 2021. Their attempt at staying up and operating might not last, though if they continue to cancel customer’s orders. If you are considering taking advantage of the sales at Children’s Place, you might want to consider heading to their brick and mortar stores instead of your computer. You would have better luck leaving the check out with your order in hand rather than waiting weeks just to find out they could not fulfill what you purchased. I doubt many of these unfulfilled orders will be resolved.

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