After a decade of falling fortunes, Houston-based girls’s clothes chain Francesca’s is clearing out all its racks. The once-mighty retailer is closing all of its nationwide shops, together with three areas in San Antonio.
Though the corporate has not made any official pronouncement, Ladies’s Put on Every day stories that the model is presently within the technique of liquidating all of its stock. In line with the style trade commerce journal, some staff are reporting that they had been let go with out warning, whereas distributors are allegedly searching for cost on lots of of tens of millions of {dollars} in unpaid invoices.
Francesca’s was based in Houston in 1999, changing into sought out for its boho-chic choices that occupied an analogous lane to Anthropologie. Over roughly 15 years, it rapidly ramped up its footprint, peaking at over 600 areas by 2016.
That explosive progress didn’t show to be standard with shareholders. That very same 12 months, the Wall Road Journal reported that its inventory costs had plunged to their lowest worth since Francesca’s went public in 2011. Regardless of management modifications, the chain has been on a downward slope since.
In 2020, Francesca’s filed for Chapter 11 chapter safety whereas it sought a purchaser for its on-line operation and brick-and-mortar shops. The chain closed virtually 250 of its storefronts by early 2021.
After finishing reorganization and being purchased out of chapter by an affiliate of TerraMar Capital and Tiger Capital Group, Francesca’s tried a revival by launching a tween line, Franki by Francesca’s, and gobbling up celebrity-endorsed way of life model Richer Poorer.
It’s unclear precisely when the San Antonio shops will shutter, however the firm just lately modified its return coverage to state all gross sales are remaining after January 14. A request to Francesca’s company headquarters for remark was not instantly returned.
