FORMERLY PE OWNED
Rue21
Includes rue21, rue 21
teen fashion · Warrendale, PA
- PE Firm
- Apax Partners →
- Year Acquired
- 2013
Three bankruptcies in two decades, and the last one shuttered every store with gift cards still in wallets.
What Happened
- Apax Partners bought Rue21 in 2013 and loaded the chain with debt that trailed it through three separate bankruptcies.
- The May 2017 bankruptcy closed roughly 400 stores; the company emerged that September under new hedge fund ownership
- Third bankruptcy in May 2024 — this time, the chain announced liquidation of all 540 remaining stores
- Gift cards became worthless once liquidation hit — customers who'd bought them, sometimes weeks earlier, were left with nothing
The Damage Done
- All 540 stores closed in 2024 — a once-popular teen fashion destination completely eliminated from America's malls
- Gift cards became worthless across three separate bankruptcies — a recurring gut punch to customers and gift-givers
- Thousands of retail workers, many of them teenagers and young adults in their first jobs, lost employment with minimal notice
- Mall foot traffic declined further as another anchor tenant disappeared, accelerating the decline of shopping centers that were already struggling