Filene’s Basement is closing two more stores

By Jenn Abelson, Globe Staff

Filene’s Basement is closing two stores in Ohio and Maryland, in addition to the four shops it is shuttering in Massachusetts by the end of the year.

The four Filene’s Basement sites located in Simon Malls in Braintree, Peabody, Saugus, and Watertown were earmarked to close when the company filed for bankruptcy in 2009, according to a statement released today by Syms Corp., which purchased Filene’s Basement at an auction two and a half years ago.

“An agreement was reached with Simon Malls to keep the stores open until December, 2011 and we are in the process of fulfilling that agreement,” Syms said. “It has always been our expectation that the stores would close at that time and, as a result, we have begun the planned wind-down of these locations.”

The New Jersey discounter, in the statement, said leases for Filene’s Basement are expiring at the Rockville, Maryland shop and Columbus, Ohio locations, and so those stores are also shutting down.

These closings – about 23 percent of the chain’s stores – will leave Filene’s Basement with just 20 shops.

“Filene’s Basement under Syms seems to have lost its way,” said Edgar Dworsky, founder of Consumerworld.org, a consumer advocacy website. “You don’t see them advertising season-end stock from famous stores anymore, and without the automatic markdown in branch stores, their everyday prices are too high.