It isn’t getting any easier for retail store operators in the world of “brick and mortar versus click and order,” as shoppers continue to take their business online.
The exodus of brick and mortar retailers continues with the latest round of closures hitting the teen retailer rue 21 which has a store in the Fairplain Plaza already sporting the “Store Closing” signage America is becoming all too familiar with.
With 400 stores nationwide targeted for closure represent more than a third of the chain operator’s 1,100 locations in shopping centers like the Fairplain Plaza or malls and outlet centers across the nation.
While no specific action related to bankruptcy is tied to the company’s announcement, they have been rumored to be teetering on the brink for several months now.
In a simple announcement on their Facebook page which was also shared on the corporate website, rue 21 had this message: It’s true — we are closing some stores. It was a difficult but necessary decision. We still have hundreds of locations across the country, and our website rue21.com, open for business.
The company apparently plans to focus more on online sales to survive going forward.
The Fairplain Plaza version of rue 21 is located at 964 E. Napier Avenue in space D6, between Five Below and Mattress Firm just down the strip from Kohl’s. Also closing in the immediate region are the rue 21 store in the Erskine Village on East Ireland Road in South Bend, and the Maple Hill Pavilion store in Kalamazoo. Remaining open are rue 21 stores in the University Park Mall in Mishawaka, the Lighthouse Place Premium Outlets in Michigan City, Shoppes on Six in Elkhart, Willow Lakes Plaza in Goshen, the Crossroads Mall in Portage, and Pilgrim Place in Plymouth, Indiana.
Both Grand Rapids stores will close in the Tanger Outlet and Centerpointe Mall, however River Town Crossings at Grandville, and the Battle Creek store at Lakeview Square Mall will be retained. Holland’s Riley Plaza store will close. In all, 16 of the 40 Michigan stores will be closed in this round of shutdowns.
National media sources are citing a company spokesman as saying the company is closing unprofitable stores as part of an “ongoing business transformation into a more cost efficient operator.”
The teen retailer is not alone in shutting down operations, as a number of others including Quicksilver, Aeropostale, and WetSeal are among those who have either filed for bankruptcy, shuttered unprofitable stores, or ceased operations completely.
There is no known timeline for when the Fairplain Plaza store will end its store closing sale currently underway.
