Clothing retailer Soft Surroundings has filed for bankruptcy with plans to close its 44 leased stores and to sell its online and catalog business to Coldwater Creek, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The St. Louis-based company, which caters to upper-middle-class women around the age of 60, sought protection from creditors Sunday in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Houston. Soft was founded in 1999 as a catalog company and opened its first retail store in 2005. Private-equity firm Brentwood Associates, backer of consumer businesses such as OrangeTheory Fitness and Blaze Pizza, became the majority owner in 2012. Soft recorded roughly $220 million in sales last year, of which two-thirds were made online. In the latter part of last year, it closed more than 20 stores. “Shifts in the competitive landscape, a move towards online channels, the Covid-19 pandemic, and increased costs of goods and services due to inflation all impacted the company’s financial position,” Chief Restructuring Officer Curt Kroll said in a sworn declaration. The company plans to close the remaining stores by late February 2024, according to a court filing.
