Clad menswear site to shut down after less than a year

Cladmen.com, the full-price men’s e-commerce site developed by JCPenney’s Growth Brands Division in collaboration with Esquire magazine, will officially shut down on April 27—barely six months after it launched.

The site sold apparel across most categories, including tailored clothing, footwear, denim, underwear, furnishings and luggage. Brands included Adriano Goldschmied, Ben Sherman, Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, Eton, Gitman Bros, Hickey Freeman and Red Wing.

A statement from JCPenney spokesperson, Daphne Avila, said, “Clad will cease operations effective April 27 in order to focus on the transformation of our core brand, JCPenney.”

Esquire, which was a marketing and promotion partner, did not have an ownership stake and was apparently not a part of the decision.

The site was conceived in 2010 with the blessing of then CEO Mike Ullman, who said in an announcement, “Our objective through this new division is to capitalize on our extraordinary retail expertise to strategically pursue untapped opportunities to serve key customer segments.” That division also spawned the big & tall specialty chain The Foundry, which launched in April last year. Clad was scheduled to launch in August, 2011, but was delayed until November.

The news that Clad would shut down comes just days after JCPenney’s new CEO, Ron Johnson, announced the retailer’s controversial new promotions strategy. That announcement was made amid rumors that JCPenney would be making cuts and lay-offs.

Cladmen.com is currently live and promoting a “final sale” until tomorrow, January 31.

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