Dive Brief:
- Francesca’s Acquisition LLC — which operates the retailer Francesca’s and is owned by the holding company MAS Acquisition LLC — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of New Jersey. This is the second time in about six years that a corporate entity operating the retailer has filed for bankruptcy.
- The company has between $10 million and $50 million in consolidated assets, with about 1,000 to 5,000 creditors, per the filing. Francesca’s has about $30.1 million in secured debt as of Thursday, and the holders of that debt support the bankruptcy case, CFO Curt Kroll said in a separate court document.
- The filing reiterates news from January that Francesca’s stores will close through a phased liquidation process. Constrained liquidity from its prior restructuring, a shift in the competitive landscape due to e-commerce, underperforming investments in non-core brands (such as Franki and Richer Poorer) and a disruptive data breach in 2023 were among the many reasons Kroll listed that led to this latest bankruptcy.
Dive Insight:
Francesca’s store liquidations and bankruptcy filing come after alternative financing fell through at the end of 2025. The company’s income is based in its brick-and-mortar business, with about 13% of 2025 sales coming from e-commerce.
“Macroeconomic factors that have disrupted the retail industry generally have also impacted the Company, including shifts in the competitive landscape, a move towards online channels, supply chain issues, and increased costs of goods and services due to inflation, among other factors,” Kroll said in the filing.
The retailer’s business peaked between 2016 and 2017, operating about 700 stores with over $500 million in sales.
MAS Acquisition acquired Francesca’s in September 2024, a few years after it had been acquired out of bankruptcy by TerraMar Capital and Tiger Capital.
Although the company was “on a positive trajectory” following the MAS Acquisition deal, it continued to struggle with supply chain issues that limited its access to merchandise, Kroll added.
Among the company’s top 30 unsecured creditors is Francesca’s former CEO Andrew Clarke, who served in the role from 2020 to June 2025, per his LinkedIn profile. Several inventory suppliers are also listed as unsecured creditors, as well as landlords Simon Property Group and Tanger Properties.
Francesca’s bankruptcy includes several motions for the court to consider, including the request to continue the liquidation sales across its fleet of about 400 leased stores. The company has about 3,000 employees, most of whom are hourly workers.
The retailer also requested approval to continue its customer programs, such as those relating to gift cards and rewards. It is also requesting approval to pay certain prepetition taxes and fees, as well as certain owed wages, salaries and compensation for employees.
Retention of the retailer’s store employees specifically is “critical to ensure an orderly store closing and wind down process,” Kroll said.
The company is holding merchandise sales with discounts ranging from 25% to 40% off across all product categories, with new inventory being brought in to stores, per a separate press release Friday.
