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Francesca’s stores are closing all of their locations after 25 years in business.
“We are liquidating our inventory and closing soon,” a customer service representative told Women’s Wear Daily (WWD) in a report published on Jan. 15. Additionally, a source told the outlet that the retailer’s merchants were “let go” on Jan. 14 “with no warning.”
While the company has not yet announced an official final date for store closures, it is currently hosting a 20% off sale on its website.
According to one of Francesca’s vendors, the liquidation is believed to include “inventory that has not been paid for.” The vendor also alleged that the firm is owed $250 million in unpaid invoices, telling WWD that “there has been no correspondence whatsoever from corporate to any of the vendors.” Liquidation sales were reported to have begun as early as Jan. 16, 2026.
The women’s boutique-style retail chain, most commonly found in shopping malls, was founded in 1999 in Houston, Texas, by siblings Chong Yi, Kyong Gill, and Insuk Koo, along with their friend John De Meritt.
Unlike traditional department stores, they aimed to replicate the intimate feel of a local boutique. Its inventory consisted mostly of apparel, jewelry, accessories, and unique gift items at accessible price points.
In its heyday, the company operated over 700 stores across 48 states. Francesca’s first filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2020 following declining sales, announcing it would close 140 stores at the time. In 2021, the company’s assets were sold for $18 million to Francesca’s Acquisition LLC.
Despite the sale, the company continued to struggle financially. In the years following its exit from bankruptcy, Francesca’s attempted several revival efforts, including launching a tween-oriented line called Franki by Francesca’s and acquiring the Miley Cyrus and Suki Waterhouse’s lifestyle brand Richer Poorer. The chain also opened a new store at the American Dream mall in East Rutherford, New Jersey, in April 2024.
As of this writing, Francesca’s website still lists hundreds of operating locations, with approximately 450 stores remaining across 45 states. The chain has a location at Destiny USA in Syracuse.
