Clothing brand Rue21 closing 400 locations across US

The Warrendale, Pennsylvania-based company has been struggling to pay its bills, according to sources earlier this month


| Updated: 1:11 PM CDT Apr 16, 2017

Abigail Elise
National Curator

WARRENDALE, Penn. —Clothing chain rue21 is shuttering nearly 400 stores across the country. The Warrendale, Pennsylvania-based company has been struggling to pay its bills, according to Debtwire earlier this month.

"It’s true – we are closing some stores," the brand posted on Facebook Saturday. "It was a difficult but necessary decision. We still have hundreds of locations across the country, and our website rue21.com, open for business."

In 2002, rue21 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection under its former name, Pennsylvania Fashions, Inc. At the time, annual sales were estimated to be between $180 to $200 million. There are nearly 1,200 rue21 stores in 48 US states.

The brand currently doesn't have a list of all of its store closures, but you can find its locations here and check if a specific store is shutting down.

2017 hasn't been a great year for retailers. Eighty percent of Americans are now shopping online, leaving brick-and-mortar stores struggling to keep up.

Last year, online retailer Amazon reported $136 billion in revenue, making it the eighth-largest US retailer based on annual sales.

JC Penney last month released a list of the 138 stores it planned to shutter as part of a campaign to reduce corporate costs and boost sales at a smaller number of locations. The closings have been delayed after a surge in sales.

Macy's and Sears also announced major closures this year, and RadioShack filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in early March, announcing plans to eliminate more than 500 stores across the nation. In 2015, the electronics retailer shuttered about 2,000 locations.

http://www.wvtm13.com/article/clothi...oss-us/9371466