Finlay Closing North Carolina Offices

Finlay Enterprises is closing its North Carolina offices in June and has issued notices to all 90 employees impacted, a company spokeswoman has confirmed.

The spokeswoman told National Jeweler late on Friday that Finlay, which announced in February that it is pulling out of the licensed department-store business and closing about 40 freestanding stores, is consolidating functions in its New York offices.

North Carolina was home to Finlay's Caryle and Co. operations, which include freestanding stores under the brands Carlyle and Co., J.E. Caldwell and Co. and Park Promenade Jewellers.

As a result of its desire to consolidate, the company has issued WARN notices-notices companies that are closing plants are required to give employees under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act-to all 90 employees in North Carolina and, come June, will shutter both its offices and its service center in the southern state.

"This was a difficult decision that was made as an essential measure for Finlay and as a result of this challenging economic environment in which we are operating," a statement from the company reads. "We are particularly grateful to each of our associates for their many contributions to the company, and this is in no way a reflection on them or their work. We made this decision only after significant deliberation."

In addition, the spokeswoman said Finlay is holding "aggressive sales" in a number of Carlyle stores, but no final decisions have been made regarding the closure of specific stores.

As of the end of January, Finlay's freestanding store count included 69 Bailey Banks and Biddle locations, five Congress stores and 34 stores under the Carlyle umbrella.

The company has refused to release information on which stores have been closed or the status of its licensed department-store business, which it was set to exit "over the near-term" as of late February, according to a statement issued at that time.