Report: C. Wonder closing all stores

New York -- The specialty apparel and home goods chain C. Wonder is shuttering its remaining stores, according to Buzzfeed. The company, founded in 2011 by Christopher Burch, ex-husband of Tory Burch, quietly closed a number of its 32 stores in November. It is now closing its remaining locations, 11 in total, the report said.



"Due to the highly competitive nature of the current retail environment, C. Wonder will be closing its remaining stores,” the company said in a statement to Buzzfeed. “The company continues to evaluate its best alternative to maintain the C. Wonder experience for its customers." 




C. Wonder attracted a great deal of interest when it opened its first store, in the SoHo section of Manhattan, back in the fall of 2011. Some critics called it one of the hottest retail concepts in years. Others, however, described it as a less-expensive knock-off of Tory Burch (the latter, by the way, is thriving and reportedly is looking to go public). In fact, the early years of C. Wonder were marked by legal battles between the two in which, among other things, Tory Burch accused her ex-husband of making his new company too similar to her own brand. The two resolved the battle in 2012.