North Texas uniform company abruptly closes

A uniform company used by many schools nationwide closed its doors suddenly.

Parker School Uniforms made clothes for students. For many private schools, it was the only option.

The shutdown created a scramble for school leaders, families and employees who are unexpectedly without a job.

Sweaters, slacks, skirts are the private school duds at Holy Trinity Catholic School and many others in North Texas. The uniforms all come from long-standing supplier Parker Uniforms.

The nearly century-old Houston-based company abruptly shut down overnight Thursday. The Fort Worth location and Dallas stores have signs on the front door that says it is temporarily closed.

It has left employees, schools and loyal parents like Karen Johnson wondering about their pending orders with the company and where to turn from here to outfit their kids.

“I probably wouldn't have a clue,” Johnson said. “That's who I've always dealt with so I probably have to start doing some research."

While the posted signs say temporarily, an email the company sent to its workers included “We are permanently shutting down all of our operations including the entire corporate headquarters and terminating all employees."

The Dallas Catholic Diocese says its relationship with the company goes back decades. But in recent years, complaints from parents began mounting involving slow service and poor customer relations. It included a poor online rating from the Better Business Bureau saying the company has not provided what its promised to customers.

"We have received numerous phone calls from parents that are concerned in regards to outstanding orders that they had with Parker,” said Dallas Catholic Diocese Assistant Superintendent Veronica Alonzo. “We have not received any official communication from Parker in regards to those orders. We just hope they will honor The orders or just refund the parents."