Fashion to Figure

Fashion To Figure is a United States retailer focusing on plus-size clothing and related accessories. In November 2017, its parent company, B. Lane Inc., filed for bankruptcy.

Fashion To Figure
TypePrivately held
IndustryRetail
Founded2002
FounderMichael Kaplan
Nicholas Kaplan
Headquarters
New York City
,
United States
Number of locations
26 (as of 2016)
Key people
Michael Kaplan, CEO
Nicholas Kaplan, COO
Frances Freixas, Chief Merchant
ProductsPlus-size clothing, related accessories
Websitewww.ftf.com

Founding

Fashion To Figure was co-founded by brothers Michael and Nicholas Kaplan, two of Lena Bryant's great-grandsons.[1] Their father, Steven, was president of Lane Bryant until the company was sold to The Limited Inc. in 1982.[2] Nicholas Kaplan previously served as a Saks Fifth Avenue department manager and buyer, general merchandise manager at Bluefly, and co-founder of the Designer Warehouse liquidation chain.[3][2] Michael Kaplan served as an analyst at Lazard and co-founded an online shopping community for plus-sized women with RRE Ventures.[3]

The Kaplan brothers grew up hearing stories about how their widowed great-grandmother supported herself by selling the first maternity and full-figure dresses available to American women, which inspired them to carry on their family's tradition.[4]

Expansion & Locations

The first Fashion To Figure store opened at the Palisades Center Mall in West Nyack, New York in October 2004.[1] The second store opened in 2005 at the Livingston Mall in Livingston, New Jersey.[5] By 2011, the store opened in seven locations in New York and New Jersey. Two more stores were opened in 2011. The company launched its online store in 2010.

The store targets women and teenagers sized 12 to 26.[3] The chain is named after famous a quote by Lena Bryant, founder of the plus-sized women's clothing chain. Asked in 1950 by a Glamour magazine interviewer about the secret of her success, Bryant said, "You should never ask women to conform their figures to fashion, but rather bring fashion to the figure."[1][5]

Fashion To Figure is not a vertically integrated retailer,[6] but sources its inventory from more than one hundred vendors.[5] The company's CEO, Michael Kaplan, believes this allows it to provide plus-sized consumers with more choices.[6] In 2010, Fashion To Figure opened a store in the Cross County Shopping Center co-branded with P.S. and Wet Seal. It was later demolished in 2017 for Ulta Beauty and Sprint.

As of March 29, Fashion to Figure stores has reported that it had to let 263 employees go due to store closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.[7]

Bankruptcy

In November 2017, Fashion To Figure's parent company, B. Lane Inc., filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In August 2020, Fashion to Figure was sold for $40 million to Saadia Group after its second bankruptcy.[8]

References
  1. "Perfection's Price". Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  2. "Planning Their Big Plus: Lane Bryant Kin Building Business by the Book". The Bergen County Record. 8 September 2006.
  3. "Lena Bryant Descendants Continue Family Tradition". Women's Wear Daily. 3 June 2005. Retrieved 12 September 2011.
  4. "Inheriting the Girth: Plus-Sized Store Inspired by 'Gram'". The Bergen County Record. 21 December 2004.
  5. "Plus Size Retailer Looks to Open Westchester Stores". The Journal News Rockland. 17 January 2007.
  6. "In Family Tradition, Lena Bryant's Descendants Launch Plus-Sized Concept". Chain Store Age. 5 October 2005.
  7. Mirabella, Lorraine (10 April 2020). "Reports of layoffs in Maryland increase in past week, including Pandora, New York & Co. and Medieval Times". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2020-04-19.
  8. Al-Muslim, Aisha (2020-08-31). "New York & Co., Fashion to Figure to Sell for $40 Million". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2022-06-17.
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