Another mall staple you loved as a teen is in trouble

We wish we could keep all the fashion alive from the ’90s, like chokers and Dr. Martens, but it seems like we have to say goodbye to yet another mall favorite that took up so much of our weekend free time during our teen years: Rue 21. Over the next few weeks, it’s reported that 400 different Rue 21 stores around the country are going to be shut down.

There are currently 1,200 stores open in 48 different states, so getting rid of a third of these definitely doesn’t bode well for this teen brand. A spokesperson said it was a “difficult but necessary decision” for them.

"As part of our ongoing business transformation into a more cost-efficient operator, we are closing unprofitable stores across our fleet in order to focus on our many hundreds of highly profitable locations," they said.

The spokesperson also said there have been some financial issues that need to be rectified, and that they’re trying to “find the best solution to the company’s need for more capital and for a business model with less debt.”

This isn’t the biggest of surprises, considering the fact that Rue 21 filed for bankruptcy in 2002, back when they were named Pennsylvania Fashions Inc., and then came back as Rue 21.

It seems that there’s a whole lot of other competition in teen clothing out there as well (such as Zara and H&M), which is making it very difficult for all the Rue 21 locations to stay open.

Rue 21 definitely isn’t alone. Other popular teen brands like Guess, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Aeropostale have had to close down many of their branches as well. We’re sad to see so many Rue 21 stores disappear into thin air, but who knows? They might come back stronger than ever. Fingers crossed.