Soft Surroundings went from catalog to 80 stores — then every store closed

Soft Surroundings began as a catalog retailer in 1999, selling women's apparel and home goods to an affluent older customer base. The catalog model kept overhead low and margins healthy. In 2005 the company opened its first physical store, and over the next 15 years expanded to 80 locations — a decision that fundamentally changed its cost structure.

When the pandemic hit, Soft Surroundings was already strained by the cost of its store fleet. The 80 stores had been built on the assumption that a catalog-driven brand could cross into bricks-and-mortar profitably, but the shift toward e-commerce accelerated. By 2022 the company had closed 25 stores, leaving 44. On September 11, 2023, Soft Surroundings filed for Chapter 11 and announced the closure of all remaining stores.

Coldwater Creek, a competitor navigating similar industry pressures, bought Soft Surroundings' remaining assets out of bankruptcy and continued to sell the brand through catalog and online channels — without any physical footprint. The brand that had spent 18 years building stores ended up with zero.