Shop to Save Lives

Partners Card inspires Dallas-Fort Worth shoppers with discounts that do good

Follain is one of the new retailers participating in the Partners Card this year.

Photo courtesy of Follain

Each year, shopping mavens and dining enthusiasts look forward to the Partners Card, the premier charity shopping event in Dallas-Fort Worth that lasts October 26-November 4.

That's right: We said Dallas and Fort Worth. This year the Partners Card is expanding to the west, along with adding nearly 150 new retailers and restaurants.

What else should you know about the Partners Card? Here's a handy guide.

How it works
Purchase the Partners Card for $70, and save 20 percent at participating retailers (think everywhere from Arhaus to Ylang23, Bonobos to Vintage Martini) and at least 10 percent at participating restaurants. You can view the complete list here.

What it benefits
The entire cost of the card gets donated to The Family Place, Dallas' largest family violence agency. Since its debut in 1993, Partners Card has raised over $18 million to help break the cycle of family violence in the community. Last year alone, Partners Card raised over $1 million and provided more than 14,000 nights of shelter for victims of family violence.

Did you know there's an app?
The free app is available for both iPhone and Android, and it not only lets you see and sort the participating retailers (by area or category), but you can also add an existing card and eliminate any risk of losing the traditional paper copy. Through geo-targeting, stores that sell the card will now receive credit, and you'll also get up-to-the-minute info about upcoming Partners Card events.

You can also shop online
Register your Partners Card online, and you'll receive access to a unique, one-time-use code for more than 90 retailers. Online codes are valid for one online shopping transaction within the 10 days of Partners Card at participating e-commerce retailers.

Dine and donate
Mi Cocina and Taco Diner are donating $10 to The Family Place when customers donate $10 while dining during Partners Card. Sounds like a perfect excuse for some queso and a margarita, no?

Fashionable Fort Worth
Dozens of Fort Worth retailers and restaurants have hopped on board, including home furnishings store dh Collection; men's specialty clothier John L. Ashe; and lifestyle store Pax & Parker, which comes from a pair of TCU grads.

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For more information, visit www.partnerscard.org, contact the Partners Card hotline at 214-443-7754, or email partnerscard@familyplace.org.

apps shopping promoted

RETAIL APOCALYPSE

Mall favorite Francesca's to close all stores in Dallas and nationwide

Francesca's/ Facebook

Francesca's is known for its boho-chic dresses and tops.

After a decade of falling fortunes, Texas-based women’s clothing chain Francesca’s is clearing out all its racks. The once-mighty retailer is closing all of its stores nationwide, including several locations in Dallas-Fort Worth.

Although the company has not made any official pronouncement, Women’s Wear Daily reports that the brand is currently in the process of liquidating all of its inventory. According to the fashion industry trade journal, some employees are reporting that they were let go without warning, while vendors are allegedly seeking payment on hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid invoices.

Francesca’s was founded in Houston in 1999, becoming sought out for its boho-chic offerings that occupied a similar lane to Anthropologie. Over roughly 15 years, it quickly ramped up its footprint, peaking at over 600 locations by 2016.

That explosive growth did not prove to be popular with shareholders. That same year, the Wall Street Journal reported that its stock prices had plunged to their lowest price since Francesca’s went public in 2011. Despite leadership changes, the chain has been on a downward slope since.

In 2020, Francesca’s filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection while it sought a buyer for its online operation and brick-and-mortar stores. The chain closed almost 250 of its storefronts by early 2021.

After completing reorganization and being bought out of bankruptcy by an affiliate of TerraMar Capital and Tiger Capital Group, Francesca’s attempted a revival by launching a tween line, Franki by Francesca’s, and gobbling up celebrity-endorsed lifestyle brand Richer Poorer.

Francesca's still had Dallas-Fort Worth stores in West Village, Galleria Dallas, Stonebriar Centre in Frisco, Firewheel Town Center in Garland, The Shops at Legacy in Plano, The Shops at Highland Village, Southlake Town Square, NorthEast Mall, Arlington Highlands, Glade Park in Euless, and Sundance Square and The Shops at Clearfork in Fort Worth.

It’s unclear exactly when the local stores will shutter, but the company recently changed its return policy to state all sales are final after January 14. A request to Francesca’s corporate headquarters for comment was not immediately returned.

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