C.Wonder Sales Are Facing Closure Soon

The brand C.Wonder, created by Tory Burch ex husband Christopher Burch, is about to close.

The retailer has cut all 100 staff and shut down its 11 remaining stores. The founder Christopher Burch and his company Burch Creative Capital want to create a new professional chain to provide colorful, fun and relatively inexpensive female fashion and accessories home furnishings. This ambitious plan has been terminated.

The company used to be worth about $350 million.

A person familiar with the matter said that the meeting was announced on Monday at Burch Creative Capital's Flatiro office, where employees were withdrawn from headquarters forever.

C. Wonder management, design and

I don't know what it will be like.

A salesperson in New York who did not want to be named said the brand planned to close its 8 non Manhattan stores in the next two weeks.

Surplus goods are expected to be liquidated in C.Wonder stores in Time Warner Center, SOHO and downstream Fifth Avenue.

As of Tuesday afternoon, the staff of these stores still did not know that their other branches would be closed, and there was no clear type of severance payment.

Some sources say they expect a three week window period before closing down.

On Tuesday, Burch said, "I am very sorry for the fierce competition in the retail environment. The company has to take these necessary steps today.

I want to personally thank the outgoing C.Wonder staff for their valuable contributions. "

It remains to be seen whether Chapter 11 will be submitted or Burch will try to save the C.Wonder brand or otherwise authorize? The lease liability seems to be the biggest responsibility of Burch in C.Wonder, and the company's Columbus Circle store is reportedly $1600 per square foot.

In late November, the company said it would close 20 of its 32 stores.

One source said he made a leap in the first 6 months of trading with Ellen DeGeneres and developed his lifestyle brand ED.

Burch now has more time to focus on a diversified portfolio, including BaubleBar, his daughter's Pookie and Louisa.

Trademark, Five Below and Solid & Striped, as well as non fashion companies.

In July, WWD talked about ED, and Burch insisted that he did not find another project in any form.

"I am tired," he said at the time.

"For some reason, everyone thinks that we are in fashion in our industry.

I really am not.

I have 50 other things to do every day.

Yes, I have invested a lot of entrepreneurs in our industry.

In each category, I only deal with technology.

I enjoy my holiday.

So for me, I really didn't see anything else. "

"The passion, creativity and intuition that can't be stopped," a friend described, Burch and C.Wonder's biggest stumbling block may be the oldest predicament, too much and too fast.

After signing a licensing agreement with Al Tayer in the Middle East in November 2013, Burch said the company's five year plan is to open 250 to 300 stores in 50 countries.

Unlike the company co founded by his ex-wife, Tory, which has her name, opened its first store in NoHo and established wholesale business strategically before opening other independent stores around the world, while Burch and C.Wonder went straight to retail.

According to the source, he invested heavily in its infrastructure and foreign purchases, even though the demand for products had not yet reached that level.

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From the beginning, C.Wonder had a troubled existence.

Colourful, vulgar, low-cost labels are the legal arguments between Burches in November 2012, when Tory Burch responded, and countered against her Christopher Burch's early lawsuit.

The key to their debate is whether the C.Wonder concept is too similar to the Tory Burch brand in terms of their product and store design.

The couple started the Tory Burch brand in 2003 and divorced in 2007. Christopher Burch's initial legal action claimed that his ex-wife and her board members had interfered with his business and forced him to sell his 28%Tory Burch shares.

In January 2013, Burches said they had settled their legal claims. "

However, tenacious Christopher Burch may invest and generate creative ideas. In May, Harlan Kent joined C.Wonder as chief executive and succeeded Andrea Hyde, former president of Reese Witherspoon lifestyle company CEO.

Irving Place Capital CEO John Howard believes that the death of C. Wonder is due to the abnormal career of Burch.

"When you look at his record, he is an investor in Hall of Fame.

He opened SoHo shop - this is a trigger point, "Howard said.

Low cost sportswear, accessories and household decorations are vibrant colors. The first 7200 square foot boutiques were first opened in October 2011.

The touch screen of the fitting room allows customers to adjust lighting or change music. This novelty is very attractive to shoppers.

At that time, customers could use the iPod Touch in the store to settle accounts. At that time, C. Wonder was the first retailer to do so in New York, but today it is very common.

But those shops that are skilled in technology may cut jobs through the Internet.

The company's 11 independent store managers were informed of the results in a telephone conference on Monday. Some staff members received their dismissal notices through the BuzzFeed report for the first time.

There are about 25 salesmen in Columbus street and 40 in SoHo's flagship store.

Tuesday Tommy Hilfiger, Lord & Taylor and Scotch & Soda headhunting companies have contacted store managers to discuss potential job opportunities.

"Management is too late to respond to what has happened, which is why they have to find another way out.

They should have done this a year ago instead of waiting until last autumn, "a C.Wonder employee said on Tuesday.

"That's why they want to close all stores."

While sales on Spring Street are relatively good, scale, overhead and cost and location drag on business, the staff said.

A salesperson at The Shops at Columbus Circle described the recent sale as "pretty good". On Tuesday, the seasonal price cuts in the location were much higher than in other regions.

In the autumn of 2012, Burch said he postponed the launch of Electric Love Army and Number 9 Christopher.

"We have concentrated all of these resources," he said at the time.

According to sources, by February 2013, Fidelity, a Boston based investment giant, was awarded C.Wonder10% shares.

At that time, hedge funds allegedly paid $35 million, giving a valuation of C.Wonder $350 million.

Recently, Burch faced uneven C.Wonder.

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Burch Creative Capital employees denied that a report of all stores will be closed in late November, claiming wholesale will be adopted.

As of Tuesday, at least one executive believed that the plan had already been planned and pointed out that Monday's news was unprepared for the high level.