Jones Group to Close 170 Stores While Trimming Workforce

Jones Group Inc., the owner of the Jones New York, Nine West and Anne Klein fashion brands, will close 170 stores and cut 8 percent of its workforce after first-quarter profit trailed analysts’ estimates.

The actions will generate about $40 million in annual pretax savings by mid-2014, New York-based Jones Group said today in a statement. The plan will result in costs of $40 million to $60 million in the next 15 months, the company said.