Dive Brief:
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New BCBG Max Azria owner Marquee Brands and Global Brands Group have added to the brand's store count with a new location in New York City's SoHo neighborhood, according to a press release emailed to Retail Dive. They also maintain the brand's original flagship on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.
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The 5,200-square-foot space features an updated updated store concept and layout and sells sportswear, dresses, shoes, handbags, jewelry and a new denim line, according to the report.
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Marquee acquired the iconic fashion brand at auction about a year ago, following its March 2017 bankruptcy filing. The brand now runs 43 standalone stores, 310 partner locations and more than 50 international stores, according to the press release.
Dive Insight:
BCBG Max Azria remains a recognizable and respected brand, especially overseas. It exited bankruptcy last year with more hope for survival than many of its peers that also fell into Chapter 11. This move shores up a store base that was decimated as the brand struggled in the past few years.
Others have not been so lucky. BCBG is just one in a series of fashion brands to declare bankruptcy and shutter stores lately. And many — like The Limited Stores, Wet Seal and American Apparel — buckled under their debt loads and closed all of their stores in bankruptcy.
Founded in 1989 by Tunisian fashion designer Max Azria (who was also its CEO until 2016 and recently joined bug-zapping startup ZappLight), BCBG's fashion fans once included the likes of Angelina Jolie, Rachel Bilson, Eva Mendes, Kate Winslet, Victoria Beckham, Alicia Keys and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Azria based his vision and his company name on "bon chic, bon genre," Parisian slang for "good style, good attitude."
But the rise of e-commerce and changing consumer expectations, including new pressures to speed up the supply chain to sate the thirst for "see now, buy now" releases, have taken a toll. Last year the retailer announced the closure of 120 stores, mostly in the U.S., as well as its freestanding stores in Canada. The company has previously said that it will consolidate operations in Europe and Japan.
