U.S. teen retailer rue21 Inc. is seeking financing after lackluster holiday sales failed to generate the cash it had hoped for, Reuters reported. The move makes rue21 the latest U.S. brick-and-mortar retailer to have emerged from bankruptcy with its debt pile reduced only to end up struggling financially again, as shoppers shift much of their spending online and consumer tastes change rapidly. The retailer, known for its low-priced fashion-forward apparel for young men and women, has hired investment bank Piper Jaffray Companies to help raise funds, the sources said. The size of the loan rue21 is seeking could not be learned. Warrendale, Pa.-based rue21 is one of more than 15 retailers that filed for bankruptcy last year and was forced to close around 400 of its approximately 1,100 stores. Read more.
Occupancy issues are at the heart of many significant retail cases, as detailed in the forthcoming ABI publication Retail and office Bankruptcy: Landlord/Tenant Rights, available for pre-order at the ABI Store.
