Contrary to popular belief, recent data reveal mall traffic is rising. Why, then, are traditional retailers struggling, as yet another iconic 2000s and 2010s fashion brand silently closes locations?
April 2026 mall traffic grew year over year across all formats — “an impressive performance given the already strong comparison base from April 2025,” according to Placer.ai.
However, shopper intentions have shifted to shorter, frequent, mission-driven visits under 30 minutes. Without extended browsing, “malls may be seeing more targeted efficiency-oriented behavior that could concentrate spend within fewer stores per trip.”
A stark divide also separates elite hubs from struggling local malls.
- Class A (Top Tier): Traffic is nearly fully recovered (-4%), with a strong 95% occupancy rate.
- Class B (Mid Tier): Foot traffic dropped 9%, with occupancy sitting at 89%.
- Class C & Below(Low Tier): Occupancy has cratered to 72%.
Source: Cushman & Wakefield, citing Green Street data
As legacy anchors such as Macy’s, JCPenney, and Forever 21 downsize, specialty retailers lose critical foot traffic. Earlier this year, Banana Republic, Tommy Bahama, and Madewell quietly exited Maryland’s Towson Town Center Mall, and I recently reported on Fossil Group closing seven stores in one quarter.
Now, another mall staple has confirmed 13 storefront closures in one year.
Iconic handbag brand Vera Bradley quietly closes 13 stores
Vera Bradley, a handbag brand popular for its colored quilted cotton bags, travel gear, and accessories, reported fourth-quarter fiscal year 2026 results on March 12, 2026. The iconic fashion brand reported revenue of $84.9 million for the quarter, down from $86.4 million in the prior year.
Vera Bradley Q4 fiscal 2026 earnings summary:
- Net income amounted to $2.5 million, which compares to a net loss of $20 million (excluding Pura Vida subsidiary results) in the prior year.
- Earnings per share was $0.09, compared to a loss per share of $1.69 in the same quarter of the prior year.
- Consolidated gross profit totaled $40.6 million, or 47.8% of net revenues, compared to $39.7 million, or 45.9% of net revenues, in the prior year.
- Comparable sales declined 0.7% for the quarter, “driven by traffic and conversion declines.”
Source: Vera Bradley Form-10K filing
In the report, the company confirmed it has closed 12 full-line stores and one outlet store while opening two full-line stores during fiscal 2026.
Vera Bradley cut its traditional mall footprint by more than 43% in 3 years
After analyzing Vera Bradley’s previous financial filings, I discovered that it has been closing about seven stores on average per year since 2023.
Vera Bradley’s year-by-year full-line store closures:
- 2023 to 2024: Dropped from 51 to 43 stores (8 stores closed)
- 2024 to 2025: Dropped from 43 to 39 stores (4 stores closed)
- 2025 to 2026: Dropped from 39 to 29 stores (10 stores closed)
Sources: Form 10-K 2023, Form 10-K 2024, Form 10-K 2025, Form 10-K 2026
The numbers reveal an intentional full-line footprint cutback, as Vera Bradley has closed 22 full-line stores, reducing the total number by more than 43% in just three years, while at the same time it has increased the number of its outlet stores.
Filings show that during the course of those three years, the company increased the number of its outlet stores to 86 from 79.
In the latest earnings report for the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Vera Bradley also confirmed it has closed another three underperforming full-line stores. This means the company quietly closed 16 full-line stores over 15 months.
Why has Vera Bradley been closing its full-line stores?
For the first quarter of 2027, Vera Bradley reported net revenues of $55.7 million, compared to $51.7 million in the prior year first quarter ended May 3, 2025. Net loss amounted to $4.8 million, compared to $18.3 million in the same period last year.
Despite net loss, the company actually achieved its first quarter of overall revenue growth since the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, “marking an important inflection point in our turnaround,” stated CEO Ian Bickley.
Comparable sales also grew by 13.4%, driven by ecommerce improvements, increased traffic across all stores, and better average ticket.
Related: Las Vegas Strip loses 26 stores after retail scandal
“We’ve stabilized things. We’re putting in place pillars for growth, and now can really start to focus on the future. This was a milestone quarter for us,” Bickley told WWD.
Bickley added that the Project Sunshine transformation strategy announced in January 2025 focuses on stabilizing the top line, refocusing on cotton, and improving margins through disciplined pricing, promotions, cost reduction, and closing weak stores.
The goal of the new strategy is to reduce the company’ costs by about $20 million annually, according to a 2025 press release.
While recent closures are driven by Project Sunshine, historical filings reveal Vera Bradley’s full-line downsizing actually began years earlier.
Vera Bradley outsourced production to China
Some longtime observers of the brand believe a turning point came when Vera Bradley outsourced production overseas.
“The same year the company went public, ‘Made in China’ tags started appearing in Vera Bradley bags; by the mid-2010s, the company had shuttered its U.S. factory. Those who follow the brand say a significant decline in quality followed,” writes Indianapolis Monthly.
Sara Baldwin, founder of Indianapolis vintage shop Lux & Ivy, told Indianapolis Monthly that she can easily tell if a Vera Bradley bag was made before or after the company’s initial public offering.
“The short answer is that if it’s still in good shape, it was probably made before 2010. After that, things get rough. The fabric quality is different. So is the stitching. Vera Bradley used to feel exclusive. But now it’s at outlet malls. That was the wrong play.”
The brand’s struggles have also caught the attention of Wall Street.
The company faced additional challenges when Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, announced an investigation of potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Vera Bradley, resulting from allegations that Vera Bradley may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.
Experts say Vera Bradley lost focus on what made it successful
According to Vera Bradley Wholesale, the brand built its multi-generational following by capitalizing on colors and prints that stand out.
For Millennials and older Gen Z shoppers, the brand evokes a deep cultural nostalgia. As journalist Eve Batey observed for Indianapolis Monthly, the brand’s signature quilted totes were a mandatory “fixture at upscale malls in the aughts and teens,” dominating everywhere from “sorority houses… to the dropoff and pickup lines at tony private schools.”
Carissa Newton, business professor at the University of Indianapolis, believes that several moves led to the company’s sales decline.
- Licensing the Vera Bradley name for other products
- Acquisition and then sale of bracelet company Pura Vida
- Luxury hotel opening in Fort Wayne
Newton argues that the company’s ambitious efforts have hurt more than helped. “They just need to get back to basics if they want to survive.”
Daniel Lawson, a costume designer known for dressing the actors on “The Good Wife,” “The Good Fight,” and “Elsbeth” used Vera Bradley bags when outfitting Carrie Preston for the role of attorney Elsbeth Tascioni.
He praised the products, suggesting that the company needs “to focus on what made them Vera Bradley — these bags and those incredible patterns.”
Vera Bradley: from basement ping-pong table to cult favorite
The Vera Bradley concept all started back in March 1982 at the Atlanta airport. Friends Barbara Bradley Baekgaard and Patricia R. Miller observed that the travel world was missing colorful, distinctive luggage options for women.
“Amid colorful fabrics and smart sketches spread out on a basement ping-pong table, a brilliant idea was born,” reads the description on the company’s History page.
Vera Bradley major brand milestones
- 1982-1987: Incorporated and quickly crossed the $1 million sales mark, reported Zippia.
- 1993: Launched the Vera Bradley Foundation for Breast Cancer, which has raised more than $40 million for life-saving research, according to its website.
- 2004-2005: Launches online sales. Simultaneously, its annual Fort Wayne, Indiana, Outlet Sale becomes a massive viral shopping frenzy, Visit Fort Wayne shared.
- 2010: Went public on the NASDAQ (VRA) in 2010, wrote Forbes.
- 2025-2026: Launched Project Sunshine under CEO Ian Bickley to cut underperforming mall stores and restore brand profitability.
What’s next for Vera Bradley?
Vera Bradley’s pullback from traditional, mid-tier suburban malls doesn’t mean that the brand is eliminating its brick-and-mortar locations. In fact, the company is investing in its outlet presence as well as online.
Under its Project Sunshine initiative, the company also recently highlighted a nationwide debut at Nordstrom stores and Nordstrom.com.
The offering includes a mix of new-release prints and relaunched customer favorites, including Melissa Ditsy Floral. Customers can shop styles including the Original 100 Handbag, Hathaway Tote, Large Original Duffel, Large Bancroft Backpack, Lunch Bag, Cosmetic Bag, pouches, and charms, to name a few, the company said in a press release.
The company’s recent moves suggest that the brand is not backing down, despite the closures. It is in fact trying to reestablish itself by returning to its roots.
Related: 2 major jewelry brands close hundreds of stores in key market
