Why Venus Fashion is slashing staff at its Jacksonville HQ (Courtesy of the Jacksonville Business Journal) — Venus Fashion’s layoff of 129 workers at its Jacksonville headquarters affects staff across all levels of the organization at the corporate headquarters, the swimwear company said Thursday afternoon.
The move is a result of changing economic conditions, the company said.
“This decision to reduce our workforce has been exceptionally challenging and is a direct result of the economic turbulence facing the fashion retail sector,” Venus CEO Laura Bollier said in a statement emailed in response to questions.
The company declined to say how many employees it now had. At one point, as many as 800 people worked at Venus, and four years ago, there were about 500 people working at the headquarters.
The layoffs comes as retail sales across the country fell by 0.1% from September to October, according to the U.S. Census Bureau — the first decline the country has seen since March.
Clothing and clothing accessory sales have been volatile for the past several years.
While the sector saw a jump in January, sales then fell before rebounding over the summer.
The Venus layoffs include a range of personnel, including senior directors of sourcing and fashion, a number of IT workers, project managers and more.
It is not the first time the company has downsized its local workforce, with the most recent large-scale cuts coming three years ago as the company changed its logistics operations.
Previously known as Venus Swimware, the fashion company now sells a range of lingerie, swimwear and women’s clothing.
The company has weathered economic storms before.
In 2009, it was on the verge of bankruptcy when it was acquired by German clothing and homegoods retailer Bonprix, part of the Otto Group.
In May, Bonprix said that the company’s overall sales had fallen about 9%, while in the U.S., sales experienced a “low double-digit decline” that reflected a challenging time for Venus.
Nevertheless, a company spokesperson said Venus is still looking to grow.
“We continue to be confident and optimistic in the future of the VENUS brand,” the spokesperson said in an email, “and will make the necessary investments to ensure there is a great future of profitable growth for this company.”