Dive Brief:
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In a move that signals the company's resurgence, women's apparel and accessories retailer Charming Charlie is expanding its store footprint by opening 14 new locations in the coming months, according to a company announcement.
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The retailer will focus on locations in Texas, California, New York and the Midwest, with one store opening this Friday in Houston.
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Charming Charlie plans to roll out additional stores nationwide in the summer and fall of 2021, according to the company.
Dive Insight:
Charming Charlie is orchestrating a comeback.
The retailer, which is known for its color-grouping visual merchandising model, is "reopening in the communities who love the brand most," according to Charming Charlie President Steve Lovell. Stores will feature merchandise in the categories of apparel, handbags, jewelry, gifts, beauty, shoes, tech, pets and kids, among others.
"We're incredibly pleased to be bringing Charming Charlie back to its origin city of Houston and continuing to grow in all aspects of our business, especially in light of the challenges businesses have faced in the last year," Lovell said in a statement.
The company opened a store in Atlanta last September — its first since the company's 2019 bankruptcy.
Charming Charlie locations opening in March and April
| Name of Shopping Center | City | State |
|---|---|---|
| First Colony | Houston | TX |
| Willowbrook Mall | Houston | TX |
| Stonebriar Centre | Frisco | TX |
| The Parks Mall at Arlington | Arlington | TX |
| The Oaks | Thousand Oaks | CA |
| Pembroke Lakes Mall | Pembroke Pines | FL |
| Jordan Creek | Des Moines | IA |
| La Encantada | Tucson | AZ |
| Water Tower Place | Chicago | IL |
| FlatIron Crossing | Broomfield | CO |
| Fresno Fashion Fair | Fresno | CA |
| PacView | Ventura | CA |
| Vintage Faire | Modesto | CA |
| Deptford Mall | Deptford | NJ |
Source: Charming Charlie
Since the company's founding in 2004, the retailer has been through two bankruptcies, the first of which left it with a reduced footprint, and the second led to a full liquidation. The company's intellectual property sold in September 2019 for around $1.1 million.
The retailer's calling card of grouping products together by color was also one of its points of friction called out in its 2019 bankruptcy documents.
"Although this approach initially provided Charming Charlie with a strategic benefit, and engendered significant brand loyalty, it eventually caused Charming Charlie to be saddled with excess merchandise in underperforming color offerings," Charming Charlie's then-CFO Alvaro Bellon said in past court documents.
