Parents across the country are scrambling after Texas-based Parker School Uniforms, a major uniform supplier, abruptly closed its stores.
NBC 5 obtained an email sent to employees offering an explanation on why the company kept its financial problems under wraps.
The email reads, "If Parker had provided earlier notice, it would have undermined its efforts to obtain additional outside capital due to potential investor concerns about doing business with a troubled company or a company whose employees were looking for other jobs."
The e-mail goes on to say, "We are permanently shutting down all of our operations including the entire corporate headquarters and terminating all employees."
Here in North Texas, we found stores with signs posted on the doors reading, "temporarily closed."
Parker School Uniforms currently has an "F" rating with the Better Business Bureau with more than 80 complaints against it. Consumers complained about never receiving their orders and a lack of communication from Parker.
NBC 5 Responds also checked the company's website, and it appears to have been taken down. Its Twitter and Instagram pages, however, appear to be active. In fact, just last week, the company's social channels appeared to be promoting 35 percent off for online in-stock merchandise
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The shuttered stores have caused headaches for customers like Victoria Rodriguez, who is still waiting for part of her order she placed at the beginning of the school year.
"It's horrible. It's a mess. You pay money for something your child should be wearing at school, and you don't get answers," Rodriguez said.
Houston NBC affiliate KPRC visited Parker's corporate headquarters, where a man who came to the door said they're working on a plan to notify customers about their paid orders.
We reached out to get additional information on that plan but haven't been able to reach anyone just yet.
NBC 5 also spoke to the daughter of one of the employees who lost their job Friday. She told us they expected a paycheck to be deposited on Friday but it didn't come.
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