Projo Biz Blog

Sharper Image, the San Francisco-based gadget retailer which recently filed for bankruptcy, will close its store in Providence Place mall in late spring, according to Craig Gorris, the mall's general manager.

The Providence store is one of more than 90 the company said it would close as part of the bankruptcy.

Also closing at Providence Place later this year will be the J. Jill Petites store, owned by Talbots Inc. of Hingham, Mass. A second J. Jill store in the mall will remain open, as will the Talbots stores located there.

The closings will follow others in the mall this year, including KB Toys and Jasmine Sola. But the occupancy rate remains high at Providence Place, which Gorris predicted will finish the year at greater than 95 percent.

Sales-tax receipts at Providence Place jumped 28.4 percent in December, reaching a record of nearly $2.6 million, The Providence Journal reported.

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