Francesca’s launches app

Dive Brief:

Apparel retailer Francesca's launched a new app, according to the company's website.
The app is currently only available via iOS, but will be accessible to Android users "later this year."
Features include exclusive in-app offers, free shipping on orders of $50 or more and the ability to use the app in stores to scan barcodes and find products online. App users will be notified about product drops and new arrivals will be added daily.

Dive Insight:

Apparel retailer Francesca's is continuing with plans to expand its offerings as speculation regarding a potential bankruptcy lingers.

The retailer, which runs some 700 locations, announced the closure of around 140 stores in a mid-November filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In that document, the company said that if it is "unable to raise sufficient additional capital to continue to fund operations and pay its obligations" it will likely seek to restructure under bankruptcy protection.

The retailer was showing signs of a turnaround this time last year as it enacted changes to merchandising, marketing, store count, supply chain and e-commerce operations. But, like many other specialty retailers, the pandemic dramatically impacted the company and precipitated store closures in the spring. By June, the company warned that it might be "required to delay, reduce and/or cease our operations and/or seek bankruptcy protection."

In July, Francesca's announced that it was planning to release an app and said it would release its iOS version over the summer and an Android version in time for Black Friday. "During the temporary store closure period resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, our ecommerce business surged. Given the accelerating shift to online shopping, we are excited to be stepping up our digital transformation strategy with the launch of this mobile app," CEO Andrew Clarke said in a statement at the time.

Many retailers have focused their efforts on e-commerce operations and mobile sales during the COVID-19 pandemic as shoppers pull back on in-store shopping.