Torrid, a plus-size garment shop that is popular among celebrities, has announced that it will be closing 180 of its retail outlets this year.
When compared to the first quarter of 2024, the net sales of the Torrid brand dropped from $279.8 million to $266 million, which is a decrease of 4.9%. Torrid CEO Lisa Harper issued a statement addressing the shop closures, which followed the announcement of the brand’s net sales.
“We’re accelerating our transformation to a more digitally led business, which includes optimizing our retail footprint,” Harper stated. “We now plan to close up to 180 underperforming stores this year—allowing us to reduce fixed costs and reinvest in areas that drive long-term growth, including customer acquisition and omnichannel enhancements.”
At the same time that the company saw a decline in net sales, it also had a decline in the gross profit margin, which went from 41.3% to 38.1%. From May of 2024 until May of this year, the corporation had a total of 658 outlets, but as of May of this year, the number of retail locations has decreased to 632 stores.
Now, in order to meet clients where they are, the company intends to place a greater emphasis on digital, which accounts for seventy percent of the whole demand for the brand.
“We remain in a strong financial position and are executing with clarity and focus,” Harper stated. “I’m incredibly proud of our team’s commitment to delivering innovative product, deepening customer connections, and building a more agile, resilient business for the future.”
In 2001, Torrid started off at the Brea Mall in Brea, California. Several celebrities were seen wearing the clothing or endorsing the brand in the 2010s, which led to a boom for the company, which sells bra sizes 36C to 54D and women’s sizes 10 to 30.
At her first major red carpet event, the Cannes Film Festival, Gabourey Sidibe acknowledged wearing a dress from the Torrid brand. She then wore the brand on the red carpet when she made her first-ever appearance at the SXSW Festival in 2017.
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Additionally, Rebel Wilson and the company worked together on limited-edition collections in 2015 and 2016.
“The reaction I’ve received from the first collection has been so overwhelmingly positive.” Wilson stated, “I’m loving seeing the pictures of girls and women in my clothes on social media, feeling confident and loving themselves,” before to the debut of her second collection with the company.
Ashley Graham also began her career in plus-size modeling by appearing in Torrid advertisements. In 2014 and 2016, Adrienne C. Moore, star of Orange Is the New Black, starred in a denim ad for the brand.
