The tale behind fashion retailer Bebe's woes is an interesting one. Although they've suffered from the declining high street trade just as all of their competitors have, they've also been dealing with a unique set of circumstances behind the scenes. The original creative director at Bebe was Neda Mashouf, wife of founder Manny Mashouf. When they divorced in 2007, she left, and the look and feel of the brand have never been the same since. The situation is now critical; they recorded a loss of $4.6m in 2017.
Bebe has taken dramatic steps to stay alive as a brand; they've decided to close all of their physical outlets and trade online only. It's cost them $65m to end contracts early and shutter their stores, which can't have helped the financial picture in the short term. Presumably, someone clever has costed things up, and worked out there's a long-term gain to doing so.