Discovery Communications Closing Its 103 Stores

SILVER SPRING, MD-Discovery Communications, the parent company of the Discovery Channel and other television networks, is closing its 103 stores, which are found in malls and stand-alone locations. The company will now focus on selling products on the Internet and through other retailers via licensing agreements.

“By eliminating our owned and operated brick-and-mortar storefronts, which are cost-intensive and complicated businesses,” says David Zaslav, president and chief executive officer of Discovery Communications, in a statement.

Discovery’s stores are found in some of the most visible and upscale malls in the country, such as Cherry Creek Mall, in Denver; South Coast Plaza, in Costa Mesa, CA; and the Mall at Short Hills (NJ). Management expects to close the units some time by the end of the third quarter.