Iconic California clothing and accessories retailer Fred Segal, known for its innovative presentation and keen sense of the zeitgeist, has shut its two remaining stores in the state, according to numerous reports.
The Fred Segal stores in West Hollywood and Malibu, have both closed, according to local TV station KABC. At press time, Fred Segal’s website simply presented a sign-in page, and its Instagram was touting a “final call for our summer sale.”
The retailer once had nine stores in California and several overseas.
Business of Fashion said two Fred Segal locations remain open: a shop-in-shop at Resorts World in Las Vegas and a sublicensed furniture store bearing its name in Culver City, Calif.
The brand’s owner, Jeff Lotman, head of licensing firm Global Icons, told WWD that the “shift to online shopping, economic uncertainties, and decreased foot traffic have made it difficult to maintain physical store operations.”
Lotman has returned the brand license to the Segal family, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We are going to be looking for a new operator to open up more stores in the future,” family attorney Larry Russ told the newspaper.
In 2017, Emili Vesilind wrote in JCK that Fred Segal, which began in 1961 by selling jeans, “has been one of L.A.’s defining stores for decades, [and] has a long history of collaborations with fashion, jewelry, and accessories brands.”
(Photo courtesy of Fred Segal)
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