Garden Botanika Will Close Its Stores, Including 5 in O.C.

Garden Botanika Inc., a personal-care products company operating under bankruptcy protection, said it will close all of its 109 stores, including five in Orange County, and seek to sell its trademarks, Web site and other assets to an undisclosed party. The local stores, which have a total of 40 employees, are in Brea, Laguna Beach, Newport Beach, Santa Ana and Westminster. The company has 22 stores in California. Proceeds of the store liquidations will go to pay off debt, the Redmond, Wash., company said in a statement. Garden Botanika, which sells cosmetics, perfumes and other products, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in April 1999. The company said it is seeking court approval for the sale of manufacturing assets, trade names, formulas and other assets. Company officials didn’t return phone calls seeking comment.