Popular gifting and stationary shop Swoozie's is shutting down...again. The company, which started in Atlanta in 2001, has been through bankruptcy and multiple owners in its nearly 25 year history, but will cease to exist as a brick and mortar business by the end of the year.
Dworkin, a veteran of Saks Fifth Avenue, Neiman Marcus and Marshall Fields, was brought to Atlanta in December 1996 to become President and CEO of Uptons, an Atlanta-based moderately priced department store. Following then owner American Retail Group's decision to discontinue the Uptons' brand in 1999, Dworkin, along with Kelly Plank, who had been Uptons' COO, opened the first Swoozie's in Buckhead in March 2001, just a few months before the fateful events of September 11.
Slowly the chain grew to include several locations in metro Atlanta as well as others in neighboring communities such as Birmingham, Jacksonville, Charlotte and Greenville.
Tragedy struck in May 2007 when Dworkin died suddenly at age 63. Under his leadership, Swoozie's had expanded to 21 stores and was a force in the industry.
Plank-Dworkin would go on to lead the company to a peak store count of 43 locations in 15 states, but the rapid expansion and challenging economy forced the company to file for bankruptcy in March 2010.
Denver-based Gart Capital Partners acquired the specialty gift and stationery retailer out of bankruptcy in June 2010 and announced plans to reopen seven Swoozie's stores and open a new store in Denver. At the time of the purchase, Gart indicated their company beat out Birmingham retailer Books-A-Million Inc. to buy Swoozie’s.
In early March 2020, just ahead of the COVID-19 pandemic, Gart made the shrewd decision to sell Swoozie's to Beyond Brands Group, the company behind Southern Living Magazine’s Southern Living stores. The result of the sale, according to a news release, would be a merged retail operation with Swoozie’s merchandise available in Southern Living stores and online and Southern Living items available through Swoozie’s stores and website. At the time of the merger, Swoozie's had ten stores and Southern Living had five.
Today there are ten Swoozie's stores and four Southern Living stores, according to their respective websites.
Signage at the Chastain Park store reads in part:
"Unfortunately, we have received news that our ownership, which is Beyond Brands, will be closing all divisions which include both Swoozie's and the Southern Living Store. While we do not know an exact timeline on what this looks like, what we DO KNOW is that every effort will be made to ensure that is not the last chapter for Swoozie's."
Beyond Brands, founded and based in Memphis, was led by CEO and owner Bill Love who like Dworkin, came from a long retail background including nearly ten years at Birmingham's beloved former department store, Parisian.
Swoozie's at The Forum began liquidation sales earlier this month and is currently offering 50 per cent off nearly all in-stock merchandise with limited selections still available. The Chastain Park store, which occupies a 5,200 square foot space in the Publix-anchored Chastain Square, is currently offering 30 per cent off of nearly all in-stock merchandise and is telling customers that they will close no later than December 31.
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| Swoozie's at The Forum Peachtree Corners |
Among the exclusions from the closing sale are all items from Jellycat and catstudio, known for their plush and pillows, respectively. That said, the store did receive plenty of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Hanukkah merchandise that is included in the sale so that you may celebrate one last Swoozie's holiday.
Are you surprised to see Swoozie's closing? What is your favorite gift store in metro Atlanta? What would you like to see open in place of Swoozie's at The Forum or in Chastain Square?
Please share your thoughts below.