Columbia fashion store to close for good

This news is color-coded black, as in mourning.

Women’s fashion retailer Charming Charlie is closing its Columbia store. The company declared bankruptcy this week and announced it would close all its stores nationwide.

An assistant manager at the company’s Columbiana Mall store would begin liquidating its stock on Saturday and be shuttered by the end of August, but the corporate office has not yet set a date by which the store must close.

Charming Charlie is known for its color-coded sections; all red clothes in one area, all black clothes in another.

The 15-year-old retailer has 260 stores in 38 states and employs 3,300 people, according to CNN. In court filings, the store claims it only has $6,000 on hand after emerging from a previous bankruptcy in 2018.

This story was originally published July 12, 2019 at 3:54 PM.

Bristow Marchant

The State

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Bristow Marchant covers local government, schools and community in Lexington County for The State. He graduated from the College of Charleston in 2007. He has almost 20 years of experience covering South Carolina at the Clinton Chronicle, Sumter Item and Rock Hill Herald. He joined The State in 2016. Bristow has won numerous awards, most recently the S.C. Press Association’s 2024 education reporting award.  Support my work with a digital subscription