(NEXSTAR) – It’s beginning to look a lot like the Christmas Tree Shops are finally going to disappear.
The remaining locations of the retail chain are scheduled to close after August 12, according to a message posted to the company’s website.
“Don’t miss your last chance to shop at a CTS store!” reads the site, which advertises up to 80% off the stores’ merchandise in the final days of business. “Last day is August 12!”
Christmas Tree Shops, also known as CTS, had already started liquidating the inventory at all stores after filing for bankruptcy in May. At the time, company chairman Marc Salkovitz said the move was “strictly a financial restructuring,” and claimed the business’s operations were “sound.”
By July, court filings indicated all stores would be closing. A press release issued on July 7 by Hilco Merchant Resources liquidation firm confirmed that all 72 remaining locations would shutter after a “going out of business sale.”
As of Friday, the retailer’s website indicates that only 49 locations are still in operation across 16 states.
Last month, shoppers also began accusing the store’s management and its liquidation company of jacking up prices on the remaining inventory amid its “going out of business sale,” thereby deceiving shoppers who might otherwise think they’re getting a deal.
In one case, a shopper in Lynnfield, Massachusetts, alleged in a TikTok video that she noticed many of the items had two price stickers — one placed on top of the other. She then alleged that the outer stickers showed significantly higher prices than the stickers underneath, seemingly indicating that some of the store’s products were previously sold at more affordable prices.
“Shame on you, Christmas Tree Shop[s]. Shame on you. Marking things up like that and then taking only 10% off,” the TikTok user said, before claiming “everything” in the store — aside from Christmas-themed floor mats — had been marked up.
Commenters on TikTok claimed they noticed the same pricing discrepancies at Christmas Tree Shops in several other states.
A representative for the Lynnfield location declined to comment on the allegations when contacted by Nexstar. A regional manager directed all communications to Marc Salkovitz, who did not respond to a request for comment.
Christmas Tree Shops currently operates 49 locations in Connecticut, Delaware, Indiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Virginia.
