Charming Charlie, the affordably priced, mostly jewelry retailer whose original iteration liquidated two years ago, plans to open 14 stores within the coming months.
Last September, the chain opened its first new store in two years, in Atlanta. Since then, it’s opened six more brick-and-mortar locations, in Santa Monica, Calif.; Gilbert, Ariz.; Towson, Md.; Columbia, Md.; Ridgeland, Miss.; and Providence, R.I.
The 14 new stores, which will open in March and April, will bring the retailer’s current total to 21. That means it will come close to its stated goal of opening 25 stores by early 2021—which is still down from the nearly 400 stores the chain had at its peak. (Prior to its 2019 liquidation, it numbered over 250.)
In a statement, the company said it planned to continue its nationwide expansion and open more stores in the summer and the fall.
The new stores are planned for Houston; Frisco, Texas; Arlington, Texas; Thousand Oaks, Calif.; Pembroke Pines, Fla.; Des Moines, Iowa; Tucson; Chicago; Broomfield, Colo.; Fresno, Calif.; Ventura, Calif.; Modesto, Calif.; and Deptford, N.J.
The openings were originally scheduled for March 2020 but were delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We’re incredibly pleased to be bringing Charming Charlie back to its origin city of Houston and continuing to grow in all aspects of our business, especially in light of the challenges businesses have faced in the last year,” said president Steve Lovell in a statement.
The chain’s rebirth has been spearheaded by its namesake, Charlie Chanaratsopon, who founded the company in 2004 as a way to fill out the malls he was building.
After a decade of explosive growth, the company liquidated in 2019, after filing for Chapter 11 twice in two years. At the time, management blamed the tough retail environment and the then-raging trade war with its main product source, China. After the first iteration of the chain closed, Chanaratsopon won an auction for its intellectual property.
Top: An interior of a new Charming Charlie store (photo courtesy of Charming Charlie)
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