A national women’s clothing retailer with five stores in south Louisiana will close all of its locations this month.
Francesca’s, which has has locations in the Mall of Louisiana and Perkins Rowe in Baton Rouge, The Outlet Collection at Riverwalk in New Orleans, Acadiana Mall in Lafayette and Southland Mall in Houma, will cease operations and has begun liquidation sales at its stores and website.
Layoffs began earlier this month at its stores and its corporate headquarters in Houston, according to Retail Dive. Francesca’s, which opened in 1999, had more than 450 locations across the U.S.
Francesca’s has been in financial trouble for a while. The chain filed for bankruptcy protection in December 2020 and was sold to TerraMar Capital, a private equity firm, for $18 million.
But the company had problems paying its bills. According to Women’s Wear Daily, one vendor said Francesca’s owed $250 million in unpaid invoices.
