Torrid's Turn: Store Closures Done, Customer Growth Begins — With Tariff Refunds as Unguided Upside
The plus-size retailer exits its defensive phase with a new marketing engine and a tariff-refund windfall it hasn't banked into guidance.
CURV · Earnings Call · 2026-06-04
After the Closures, an Offense
Torrid (NASDAQ: CURV) reported a first quarter that was, on the surface, modest: net sales of $246 million and adjusted EBITDA of $17.6 million at the high end of guidance. But beneath the flat-to-down top line sits a company deliberately rotating out of a two-year defensive posture — and doing so with a couple of genuinely new levers. The most interesting may be one it hasn't yet counted on: a tariff refund that is both company-specific and riding one of the hottest global themes of 2026. Since initiating the store optimization program, Torrid has closed 171 structurally unproductive locations; Q1's 20 closures, plus a final 7–8 expected in Q2, largely finish the job. Management's language has shifted decisively from rightsizing to growth. As CEO Lisa Harper put it:That mandate shows up clearly in the keyword trajectory. Customer file, customer acquisition, and "reactivated customers" all surged this quarter, while older themes like "promotional activity" and "loyalty program" fell off — a signal the company is shifting from discount-driven selling toward targeted growth. The optics remain weak, though: revenue fell 8% YoY to $246 million as stores come offline, and gross margin contracted 280 basis points to 35.3%.In 2026, that objective has a specific and measurable form. Strengthening our customer file through targeted retention, reactivation, and acquisition strategies.
A New Marketing Machine
The most company-specific change is the marketing rebuild under newly appointed Chief Commercial Officer Ashlee Wheeler, who now unifies performance marketing, ecommerce, pricing, and commercial analytics. The centerpieces are Direct mail — relaunched in February as a reactivation engine — and a reimagined Casting Call, expanded from a seasonal campaign into a year-round platform with mall events, in-store casting parties, and a Times Square activation. Both are high-momentum, genuinely new entries in the company's keyword history this quarter. “This is not about spending more, but being more efficient with our marketing dollars and building on the community we have built.” — Ashlee Wheeler · 2026-06-04 The operating philosophy is efficiency plus engagement: paid media revenue grew on less spend, CRM has been reinvigorated with AI-powered segmentation, and the opening price point program — now roughly 30% of apparel sales — is cast as a conversion and basket-building lever that reduces reliance on promotions. As Ashlee noted on the March call, OPP is "a vehicle to reactivate customers through a more approachable value pricing as well as acquire new customers that way" “(reactivation through approachable value)” — Ashlee Wheeler, Chief Marketing Officer · 2026-03-19. Meanwhile sub-brands — Festi, Nightfall, Retro and others — grew 75% YoY and now compose ~12% of sales, up from 7%. Notably, management insists promotional activity in Q1 was "planned and actualized according to plan" “(promotions on plan, not elevated)” — Ashlee Wheeler · 2026-06-04.The Two H2 Tailwinds
Torrid points to two swing factors for the back half. The first is footwear, which accounts for the entire gap between a -1.7% total comp and a +1.2% comp ex-footwear. The business — historically $50 million-plus annually with a strong attachment rate — was paused in the tariff spike and re-engineered. Early reads are strong: as Lisa Harper said on the March call, "We tested the new vendor structure and the new look and feel and quality of the product in November, and it was a resounding success" “(resounding footwear test)” — Lisa Harper, Chief Executive Officer · 2026-03-19. By the second half, the headwind flips to tailwind — "it provides sizable comp benefit to the back half of the year" “(footwear comp swing)” — Ashlee Wheeler · 2026-06-04. The second, newer tailwind is the tariff refund. CFO Paula Dempsey:Two things make this notable. First, it is largely out of guidance — neither phase is contemplated in the current outlook, and guidance still assumes tariffs step up from 10% to 15% in H2. Second, it is not a Torrid-only story: tariff refund has been a top-market theme for three quarters running (the market's own IEEPA-refund keyword spiked to #3 in 20263), and peer apparel reporters WOOF and PVH flagged identical refunds in the last five days. Torrid's is distinctive mainly in how explicitly it is sized — $9–11 million, plus a $1.5–2.5 million second phase — and in management's framing that it could offset potential freight headwinds.As of May, we have received an initial portion of the tariff refund due to us. with additional recoveries expected as the claims process progresses. We have filed for the first phase of refunds, with an expected recovery in the range of $9 to $11 million.