Soma has closed at Westfield Montgomery Mall in Bethesda. The women's lingerie boutique brand was recently acquired by a private equity firm, which makes the closure less surprising. Having said that, I do not see news stories about specific Soma locations closing in other areas of the country at this time, so perhaps Montgomery County's infamously-moribund economy is to blame in this case. Soma was launched by Chico's FAS twenty years ago, and claims to have over 250 stores today.
Eventually the powers that be will realize the big mall concept is over and they need to do something different with the property. What could force this to happen is if Macy's or Nordstrom closes.
ReplyDeleteThe master plan is to turn the mall inside out and a more pedestrian friendly area and neighborhood.
Delete6:17 AM It is heading to become a homeless shelter.
ReplyDeleteSuch a useful comment.
DeleteThe parent company has been struggling and is closing lots of stores, not just in Montgomery County. https://chainstoreage.com/chicos-q4-loss-widens-closing-40-45-stores-adding-store-soma-shops
ReplyDelete9:51: There has been tumult at that level, but do you see any recent news stories about a specific Soma store closing other than this one? I could not find any in an extensive search online.
ReplyDeleteAnd just because you couldn’t find any information online doesn’t mean the closing has anything to do with the MoCo economy.
ReplyDelete12:45: If this is the only Soma store closing, it has a lot to do with the moribund MoCo economy.
ReplyDelete