Vera Bradley to reduce clearance sale items in effort to “right-size” company

A Fort Wayne-based company is launching a more aggressive approach to their continued turnaround efforts.

Inside Indiana Business reports that Vera Bradley CEO Rob Wallstrom said in a call with investors Wednesday morning that part of their “Vision 20/20” strategic plan includes dialing back the availability of clearance items.

“We will focus on three key initiatives: resetting our customers’ pricing perception and restoring our full-price business, narrowing our current product offerings by eliminating unproductive categories, and building tighter assortment guardrails around introducing new categories, patterns, and pricing.”

The changes will take place over the next three years, with Wallstrom saying they’ll save up to $30-million a year in doing so.

“We know these actions will not be easy, but are the right actions to take for the health of our business,” Wallstrom added.

The company had a loss of almost $3-million in net income between the second-quarter of 2016 and this year, prompting the “Vision 20/20” plan.