Francesca’s filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Thursday in New Jersey, marking another dramatic turn for the once-booming women’s boutique chain as it prepares to shutter hundreds of stores and wind down operations.
The filing by Francesca’s Acquisition LLC signals the end of an era for a retailer that once dotted malls and shopping centers across the country with nearly 700 stores at its peak. Now, it is embarking on an orderly liquidation process aimed at closing its roughly 400 remaining locations.
Going-Out-of-Business Sales Underway
Going-out-of-business sales have already begun at approximately 400 boutiques nationwide, according to a first-day declaration submitted by Chief Financial Officer Curt Kroll. The sales are designed to support what the company described as a structured store closing and wind-down effort.
The chain, founded in Houston in 1999, built its brand on curated women’s apparel and accessories and expanded into more than 40 states. It went public in 2011 and rode a wave of success that crested between 2016 and 2017.
But the retail tide has since shifted.
