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The women's boutique brand has been in business for over 25 years.
13:39, Mon, Jan 19, 2026 Updated: 13:42, Mon, Jan 19, 2026
A major boutique brand has announced bankruptcy (Image: Getty)
A major US fashion chain with hundreds of shops is shutting down after declaring bankruptcy, with a closing-down sale now under way across its estate.
Francesca’s, the women’s boutique brand known for its trendy clothing, jewellery and accessories, has confirmed it is liquidating stock and preparing to close its stores after more than 25 years in business. The retailer once operated around 450 locations nationwide, having first opened in Houston, Texas, in the late 1990s.
The store is liquidating their inventory and closing soon (Image: Getty)
A representative for the company told Women’s Wear Daily that Francesca’s is “liquidating our inventory and closing soon”, although no firm timeline has been given for when its remaining brick-and-mortar shops will shut their doors for good.
Online, the brand is already running a “warehouse sale”, with all clearance items priced at $15 (£12) or less.
Behind the scenes, the collapse appears to have been sudden and deeply disruptive. One vendor told WWD that the liquidation is believed to include stock that has not been paid for, alleging the company owes around $250 million (£200m) in unpaid invoices.
The same source claimed there had been “no correspondence whatsoever from corporate to any of the vendors”.
The closure marks the latest chapter in a long financial struggle for the chain. Francesca’s first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in December 2020, as the Covid pandemic battered high street retail.
Chapter 11 is a section of the US Bankruptcy Code allowing financially distressed businesses to reorganise their debts and continue operating, rather than liquidating, by proposing a court-approved plan to repay creditors over time while remaining a "debtor-in-possession".
At the time, the company said it planned to keep most of its stores open while attempting to renegotiate leases and seek a buyer.
The retailer secured $25 million (£20m) in financing from Tiger Finance to support a sale process, with then-chief executive Andrew Clarke saying the funding would help the brand “optimise our boutique fleet” and return to profitable growth.
In January 2021, Francesca’s Holdings Corporation announced that substantially all of its assets had been sold to Francesca’s Acquisition LLC, an affiliate of TerraMar Capital, allowing the business to continue outside of bankruptcy.
In the years that followed, the company attempted to reinvent itself, including launching a new tween-focused brand, Franki by Francesca’s, aimed at attracting younger shoppers.
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But problems persisted. By early 2024, multiple vendors were reporting long delays in payments, a red flag often associated with retailers facing serious liquidity pressures.
At the time, Francesca’s insisted its business was “strong” and described the payment issues as short-term. Less than a year later, the brand is now winding down entirely.
English (US) · 