Charming Charlie Continues Brick-And-Mortar Comeback 18 Months After Bankruptcy

Women’s apparel and accessories retailer Charming Charlie hopes to have a big comeback in 2021 some 18 months after the firm fell into bankruptcy and closed all 261 of its stores. The chain — known for scarves, handbags, jewelry and more grouped by color — opened six sites in 2020 and plans to cut the ribbon on at least 10 more for 2021. 

“Charming Charlie has over 7 million passionate and brand-loyal customers across the U.S.,” company Founder Charlie Chanaratsopon told PYMNTS via email. “In this age of [omnichannel] retail, we see an opportunity for the brand to thrive in the online ecosystem and select retail locations across the country.”

The chain recently opened mall-based stores in Atlanta; Providence, R.I.; Santa Monica, Calif.; Gilbert, Ariz.; and Towson and Columbia, Md.; and plans to add additional locations in Texas, California and Florida in March unless COVID-19 restrictions delay that. Charming Charlie, which is based in Houston, originally planned to begin reopening physical stores last March, but the COVID-19 pandemic put those plans on hold.

At its height, Charming Charlie reportedly had more than 390 stores in North America, the Middle East and the Philippines. But in a 2019 court filing, the company wrote that it faced “unsustainable operating expenses, including onerous leases.”

Chanaratsopon later bought the company’s trademarks, 7 million member loyalty club’s contact list and other intellectual property out of bankruptcy court. The entrepreneur told the Houston Chronicle at the time that that the chain’s new stores would be about 3,500 square feet, or about half the size of their predecessors. He said Charming Charlie would also utilize things like pop-up stores.

Chanaratsopon told PYMNTS that the eventual plan is to build back to 50 to 75 locations, “which is quite different from our previous years.”

The entrepreneur acknowledged that he’s going against the grain in opening mall-based brick-and-mortar sites at a time when malls and brick-and-mortar stores are suffering.

But Chanaratsopon said the plan is “very methodical. We want to continue to serve our customers, and are pinpointing brand-loyal markets to help direct where we open stores.”

“Our goal is to continue to be the same customer-facing company,” he said. “That commitment has always been there.”