Torrid, a popular women’s clothing chain that sells plus-size apparel, has shut down 177 locations as part of an effort to boost online sales. The company revealed in June 2025 that it planned to close roughly 180 underperforming stores out of its total fleet of more than 620. The company says that 177 closures have occurred since the program started.
This decision falls within a broader shift in retail, where brick-and-mortar locations are being reduced to support online operations. The company notes that its digital channel currently accounts for nearly 70% of total demand.
The Store-Shutdown Plan
Torrid’s CEO, Harper, detailed the closure timeline during the company’s second-quarter earnings call. She said the company substantially completed its store optimization program.
“We now plan to close up to 180 underperforming stores this year — allowing us to reduce fixed costs and reinvest in areas that drive long-term growth, including customer acquisition and omnichannel enhancements,” she added.
Customer retention has remained steady even as the closures have rolled out slowly, according to the company. “Customer retention through this transition has remained strong, with our marketing efforts successfully redirecting traffic both online and to nearby stores,” Harper said.
Sales Numbers Tell the Story
Torrid’s Q2 results showed sales declining while margins improved. Net sales dropped 11.8% to $231.7 million compared to $262.8 million for the second quarter of last year. Comparable sales fell 6.3% in the quarter.
The company’s gross profit margin climbed to 38.7% from 35.6% during the same period a year earlier. When you strip out the gains from tariff refunds received, the margin stood at 33.9%. Net income reached $5.2 million, or $0.05 per share, up from $1.6 million, or $0.02 per share, in the comparable quarter of the previous year.
Harper’s statement in the press release was framed as evidence of progress. “Our second quarter results were in line with guidance. Sales trends improved meaningfully as the quarter progressed, with July marking a clear inflection point,”
What the Market Data Shows
The plus-size women’s clothing market has been growing steadily. “Plus-size clothing for women market revenue was valued at $23.6 billion in 2024 and is estimated to reach $37.4 billion by 2033, growing at a CAGR of 6.5% from 2026 to 2033,” according to data from Verified Market Reports.
The term CAGR refers to a compound annual growth rate, used to measure how the market grows over time. The report provided additional details about the expanding women’s plus-sized fashion market, including a figure that demonstrates its scale.
The e-commerce segment is expanding at the greatest speed, making up over 60% of all sales and moving ahead of physical stores. North America leads the field, holding more than 35% of total earnings, while Europe and Asia Pacific trail close behind.
More traditional retailers, including Target, have expanded their in-store offerings to include a wider range of sizes, even as the move toward online sales has become increasingly obvious.
Why Stores Were Cut
RTM Nexus CEO Dominick Miserandino told TheStreet that the closures reflect a hard truth about Torrid’s business. “Torrid shedding a huge chunk of its stores is a brutal, necessary acknowledgment that physical stores were becoming a drag on their bottom line. When over 70% of your sales are happening online, maintaining hundreds of low-productivity mall leases is just burning cash,” he said.
He thinks Torrid matches the needs of its customer base. “These are Plus-size specialty shops which rely heavily on deep customer loyalty, and Torrid already retains the majority of those shoppers digitally whenever a local store closes. Trimming underperforming physical locations lets them cut massive real estate overhead and pour capital back into e-commerce, digital marketing, and product,” he added.
The Customer Experience Tradeoff
There’s a clear trade-off at work here. Brick-and-mortar stores offer a superior experience by bringing customers face-to-face with merchandise and letting them walk out with their size already determined. However, should customers opt to purchase in-store just once before ordering online, the financial picture for those physical locations shifts dramatically.
One of the difficulties facing Torrid involves customers who start by picking out a shirt, buying several items from the store, returning a week later to purchase additional pieces, and finally ordering more colors online. Each time this happens, the store loses its recurring value.
More than a year ago, GlobalData Managing Director Neil Saunders spoke out when the shutdowns were first announced, saying he backed the chain’s decision to close stores. He called the move largely sensible, noting it would free up capital.
Now that most store closures are complete, the company faces the task of preserving the sales volume those outlets created. The real test is whether the remaining locations can hold on to the customer base they built.
Hard Numbers at a Glance
- Stores closed: 177 out of an initial target of up to 180
- Total stores: Just over 620 at the start of the program
- Sales decline: 11.8%, from $262.8 million to $231.7 million
- Profit growth: Net income up to $5.2 million, or $0.05 per share, from $1.6 million, or $0.02 per share
- Market projection: Plus-size clothing market to grow to $37.4 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 6.5%
- Digital sales share: Nearly 70% of total demand
The plan at Torrid is simple: online sales take over for the brick-and-mortar locations that are being eliminated. The question of whether shoppers go along with that trade-off will decide if the approach works.
Source: finance.yahoo.com
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