Delia’s is in Serious Financial Trouble (and Our Inner Teen is Pretty Devastated)
If you were a teen in the 1990s, chances are Delia’s was your jam. You waited with baited breath for the catalogue to appear at your doorstep each month. With it’s scrapbook-like mix of upper and lowercase lettering and cool-girl styling, Delia’s just got you! And let’s be honest, every time you had your parents drop you off at the mall, you made a bee-line for Delia’s, probably to spend your allowance on copious amounts of butterfly clips. Because what else were you supposed to spend money on at age 15?
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Which is why we’re so sad to report that the retailer, so much a part of our coming-of-age, is in dire straights. The retailer, founded in 1993, is looking for a buyer, it announced yesterday. If it doesn’t find a buyer, it might not survive the year Women’s Wear Daily is reporting.
According to Fast Company, which analyzed Delia’s downfall, there are more than a few reasons why Delia’s has struggled in recent years. First, and foremost, it hasn’t built up a strong enough web presence. It’s catalogues are no longer the quirky must-reads that they once were (they even dropped the mix of lower and upper case lettering).
And while the retailer arguably set the tone for how teens dressed in the 1990s, it hasn’t been able to keep up with fashion trends at the same pace as other fast fashion retailers, like Forever 21.
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“We maintain our belief that Delia’s can fulfill its potential as an authentic brand with a unique competitive position in the marketplace,” Chief Executive Officer Tracy Gardner said in a statement.
This whole mess does beg the question, if Delia’s can’t find a buyer, does that mean our stash of tattoo chokers are suddenly going to become collectibles?
