Why Frederick’s of Hollywood is Stripping Down Operations

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Racy lingerie retailer Frederick’s of Hollywood shuttered all its brick-and-mortar stores and will now operate solely online.

“We no longer have store locations,” Frederick’s website reads. It went on to explain that its online stores will carry the same products offered in its retail locations.

On Sunday, the chain that has long offered its bold and bodacious line of lingerie behind the pink Frederick’s marquee, filed for bankruptcy protection, which entails reorganizing rather than liquidating, with an offer of $22.5 million from Authentic Brands Group, LLC, the Wall Street Journal reported.

According to the Los Angeles Times, the move comes after years of struggles with competing brands, like Victoria’s Secret.

Retail expert Ron Friedman told the LAT that the Frederick’s closures were no surprise.

“As a company, I think they became old and stale,” he said. “Victoria’s Secret has been a home run compared to them.”

Friedman did add that with an effective marketing campaign, Frederick’s of Hollywood could be successful as an online-only business.

Frederick’s opened in Los Angeles in 1947. It later launched a mail order catalog business before opening retail stores in malls across the U.S. in the 1960s, the LAT said.

The company fell on hard times, declaring bankruptcy in 2000. Frederick’s emerged from bankruptcy in 2003 before going public in 2006.

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