Rue21 Closing All 540 Stores
Posted on May 5, 2024
Rue21 will be closing all of its stores and running going-out-of-business sales. CNN reports that this will happen within the coming weeks and all 540 stores will be shuttered.
Fox Business reports that Rue filed for bankruptcy protection last week and is over $194 million in debt. This is Rue21's third time filing bankruptcy according to CNN. The 540 stores is about half the number the teen apparel brand had at its peak.
Rue21 traces is troubles back to the pandemic. Rue21 interim CEO Michele Pascoe said in a court filing that the company was "negatively impacted by challenges stemming from the Covid-19 pandemic and related adverse market trends, including a shift in consumer shopping patterns from traditional brick-and-mortar retailers to online retailers and changing consumer preferences."
Rue has stores in 45 states. Many are located inside malls which already have vacancy and foot traffic issues. A list of all rue21 stores can currently be found on stores.rue21.com.