Fashion brand Scotch & Soda, which is owned by Bluestar Alliance, has closed several U.S. stores.
In its effort to enable growth, the brand is “closing stores that were underperforming and looking at new locations to add more stores in the near future,” according to Bluestar Alliance spokesperson Christine Peddy.
The brand’s store in the Georgetown neighborhood of Washington D.C., which opened in March, is now closed, a press representative for the Georgetown Business Improvement District confirmed to Retail Dive.
Among other closures:
The company’s store index website on May 10 said there were 39 stores in the U.S., according to screenshots taken by Retail Dive. As of Friday, the brand now lists 30 stores in the country, with at least four locations in California and two in New York removed. Scotch & Soda’s “About us” webpage says there are 246 stores open worldwide, but its store index reflects 226.
Brand management company Bluestar Alliance on Thursday announced an affiliate acquisition of Scotch & Soda’s U.S. assets, according to a press release.
The affiliate acquisition will allow “for Scotch & Soda and its products to be sold across the USA in a fleet of retail stores.” Bluestar Alliance also appointed Anthony Lucia as global president of Scotch & Soda’s U.S. and global business operations. The company says Lucia will “streamline and ensure a smooth transition across the retail footprint and global brand operations.”
The closures come just a few months after Bluestar Alliance announced it would acquire Scotch & Soda in March. Terms of the deal were not disclosed and the fashion brand said it would be able to continue its business in select markets once the transaction was finalized.
Bluestar Alliance’s acquisition was announced about a week after Amsterdam-based Scotch & Soda filed for bankruptcy in the Netherlands. The filing did not impact the brand’s business outside the country. Various causes including COVID-19 lockdowns and lowered consumer confidence were cited as reasons for the brand’s cash flow deficit.
Prior to the bankruptcy, Scotch & Soda for several years embarked on an effort to expand its brick-and-mortar presence in a shift away from its wholesale roots.
The company in October 2021 said it planned to open 22 physical locations that year, with two in the U.S. and 7 shop-in-shops. Last April, Scotch & Soda announced plans to open another 20 stores over the course of six months.
Bluestar Alliance said Thursday in its press release that Scotch & Soda “is currently optimizing its business to enable further expansion and profitable growth.”
