California-based retailer Mervyns announced on Jan. 16 that it would be permanently shutting the doors on its 19 stores in Oregon and Washington, as well as one in Salt Lake City. Poor regional performance was cited as the reason for the closings. Three of the stores will be closed by March, but the remaining locations, including the Mervyn’s at Kitsap Mall in Silverdale, will remain open until 2007.

The long leadtime will provide an estimated 70 Kitsap County Mervyns employees time to find other employment, and the company has pledged to provide severance and job-placement for qualifying employees.

This is the second mass store closing planned by the company in recent months. In September, the company announced 62 store closings in eight states. No Washington stores were affected by the earlier closing announcement.

When all 20 stores are finally shut down in 2007, Mervyns will have 170 locations remaining in eight Western states, assuming no additional closings are announced.

The announcement has potentially significant repercussions for Kitsap Mall. Mall management will now have more than 76,000 square feet to fill, and the question remains whether that space will be taken up by a new anchor store, or whether it will be broken up into smaller stores. Kitsap Mall’s senior manager, Dan Engelhard, declined to comment on the closing, or on the mall’s plans.