Trouble in retail paradise? If you’ve typed “Is Soma going out of business?” into Google recently, you’re not alone. The whispers started with store closings. The social media panic—“my favorite bra brand is disappearing!”—did the rest. But pause before you start panic-buying every Embraceable in your size. The reality is far more nuanced than the clickbait implies.
Let’s unpack the rumors, crunch the numbers, and—yes—clarify which “Soma” you even mean.
Wait, Which Soma Are We Talking About?
Here’s the first twist: “Soma” is not one entity, but a case of name doppelgängers galore. This article focuses on Soma Intimates, the women’s lingerie, sleepwear, and lounge brand you find at the mall and online—originally part of Chico’s FAS, now belonging to the KnitWell Group.
But there are others:
Soma Textiles & Industries (India): An industrial textile firm with a recent history of red-ink, shuttered factories, and see-sawing revenues.
Soma (carisoprodol): A muscle relaxant, largely discontinued as a branded drug but still floating around in generics.
Soma Gold (mining) and Soma Shades (smart blinds): Both, by all recent accounts, are still operating.
So, if your Soma is a bra, pajama, or lacy number found at the mall, keep reading—this one’s for you.
Soma Intimates: Where Did The Panic Start?
For starters, the “Soma is closing!” drumbeat picked up after news broke of retail downsizing left and right in the mall business. You saw it first at neighbors like Victoria’s Secret, Loft, and Chico’s itself. When a couple Soma stores shuttered—and outposts at limp-foot-traffic malls disappeared—cancellation rumors blossomed.
But here’s what’s missing from that panic: an actual obituary. As of early 2024, there’s no official announcement whatsoever that Soma Intimates is being shut down or sold off. Zero press releases, zero CEO farewell tours.
Instead, outlets close to the story are drawing a clear line in the sand. One retail analyst put it flatly: “Soma’s not closing. The company is only shuttering select unprofitable stores during this retail reset.”
Store closures? Yes, some. Entire brand going poof? Far from it.
Who Even Owns Soma Now—and Does That Matter?
Backstory check: Soma was created by Chico’s FAS in 2004, a gutsy swing at blending comfort-first engineering with a sexier style than the average department store bra. The gamble worked. Soma became a profit machine during some brutally tough quarters for its siblings like Chico’s and White House Black Market.
Fast forward to 2024, and Chico’s FAS (parent of all three brands) is now a portfolio piece of the KnitWell Group. KnitWell isn’t a household name, but knit together (yep) it controls Ann Taylor, LOFT, Talbots, Lane Bryant, Soma, and White House Black Market—basically, the go-to mall stores for pretty much half the women you know.
As of spring 2024, KnitWell has made it crystal clear: Soma is central to their playbook. “Soma is a core asset for us,” says one KnitWell exec. “Its category is outpacing apparel. There’s room to win.”
The lingerie and sleepwear niche isn’t dead. It’s simply different. Knickers are less recession-prone than party dresses. Also—let’s face it—comfort reigns post-2020.
But Wait: I Heard Soma Was in Trouble…?
The real plot is about challenges, not closure. If you’ve watched any mall retailer this decade, you know this script: declining in-person foot traffic, rising online shopping, rent headaches, and merciless competition from DTC brash upstarts like ThirdLove and Savage x Fenty.
Mall-based retail is shrinking—by one count, U.S. malls have lost over 40% of anchor tenants since 2016.
Soma is right in the eye of that storm. Yet, when you follow the numbers, Soma has punched above its weight. For example, in one recent quarter, Soma’s sales actually jumped 12% year-over-year, from $89M to nearly $100M. Comparable-store sales popped ~10% while Chico’s and White House Black Market sagged.
As one retail watcher noted, “Soma is driving the growth story for Chico’s/KnitWell. That makes it harder—not easier—to euthanize.” In corporate-speak: you don’t chop down the most fruitful branch on your tree.
But—it would be dishonest not to flag the context: the whole group is rationalizing stores. Think of it as a “mall cleanse.” Dozens of underperforming locations (across ALL KnitWell brands) have been closed in the past couple years. The ones that stay? More modern, more experience-driven—and a lot more digital.
How About Soma’s Financials—Is It Actually Healthy?
Is Soma a sick patient on the retailer ICU list? Not at all. In fact, it’s built a bit of a cult following and shows up as the “outlier” growth engine on KnitWell’s quarterly reports. The recipe isn’t rocket science: unfussy wireless bras, massive sleepwear, staff who know fit, and a loyalty program that keeps 6.5+ million women coming back.
The 2020s were supposed to be retail purgatory. Socks and bras, especially. But consumers shifted—hard—toward comfort. Soma, leaning fast into this “comfort meets confidence” lane, scored big.
Executives have called Soma “profitable and cash-generating” and, more telling, the brand draws digital-first shoppers at a rate higher than its mall neighbors. Company insiders quoted by Retail Dive say, “As a standalone business, Soma actually beats projections on margin and engagement. We wish all our brands performed like that.”
In other words: not only is Soma not going out of business, it’s the spark plug in the KnitWell engine room.
Store Closures Aren’t the Whole Story
Are stores closing? Yes, but read the fine print. In the last 18 months, KnitWell/Chico’s has shuttered some Soma locations—usually in malls with cratering traffic, high rents, or barebones staff. Think of it less as waving the white flag, more as pruning to keep the tree healthy.
Brands doing well trim unprofitable locations to redirect resources—inventory, marketing, training—to their best stores and digital play. It’s the “healthy heart surgery” of retail—pull back in slow markets, double down where the brand is hot.
What’s more, digital sales are front and center. Soma isn’t running from e-commerce—it’s running toward it. In 2023, online made up a record chunk of sales, with the company rolling out site upgrades, hassle-free returns, and digital fit tools. The move tracks: lingerie is easier to buy for repeat styles once you know your size, and digital marketing stretches dollars further.
As longtime retail analyst Jane Hali puts it, “Soma’s digital business is one of the few bright spots in the category. That buys them time—and capital—to outlast mall turbulence.”
How Does Soma Stack Up Against Other Som(a)s?
Here’s where things get tangled. If you’re reading headlines about “Soma” shutting down, check the fine details, because not all Som(a)s are built alike.
Soma Textiles & Industries (the Indian manufacturing mainstay) really is struggling. It closed its spinning and winding facility, reported quarters with zero (!) revenue, and bled cash. Financial types use phrases like “terminal decline” and “severe distress.” Still, it’s not fully dead yet—revenues rebounded sharply in late 2023, which amounts to a stay of execution, not a comeback show.
Soma (carisoprodol), the muscle relaxant, is another story. Brand-name production is largely phased out, surviving mostly in generics. That’s more about FDA pressure and drug lifecycle than business strategy.
As for Soma Gold (mining) and Soma Shades (smart blinds)—both are alive, selling, and in the case of Soma Gold, reporting quarterly revenue ($22.5M in Q1 2026). Soma Shades, meanwhile, is prepping new devices and actively supporting customers, if lower-key than lingerie.
If you ever want a wild ride, check the business splits listed at InBusinessVoice —it’s an excellent reminder that naming your brand after an ancient beverage or a muscle relaxer isn’t always the most searchable path.
So, Should You Worry as a Soma Shopper or Fan?
Here’s the bottom line: Soma Intimates is not going out of business. The brand is open, live, and—if anything—becoming smarter about where and how it serves customers.
Are some mall Soma stores closing? Yes, and you may lose your favorite in a local downsizing. But the larger brand isn’t disappearing. Instead, you’ll see more energy on the digital front (hello, easier reordering and online-only perks), and the remaining brick-and-mortar stores will bring more focused service, more events, and, yes, more bras per square inch.
In the words of one somber Redditor, “I panicked when my store closed, but ended up loving the online experience. There was a discount and free shipping I never got in-person.” If that’s the trade—the loss of a physical store but a beefier, more accessible digital one—it’s not the worst fate for a modern retail brand.
For those still hunting Soma’s signature bras and pajamas, go ahead and fill your cart. Your favorite sleep shorts aren’t going extinct. If anything, the next design might just ship faster and arrive with a bit less mall drama.
So, breathe easy. Soma’s here for another season—and, given their numbers, probably a few more after that.
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