Fashion retailer closing its doors at Columbus Park Crossing
Columbus Park Crossing is losing another retailer.
Young men’s and women’s fashion chain rue21 said it is eliminating nearly 400 locations across the U.S., including the store at 5550 Whittlesey Blvd. on the city’s north side.
“It’s true — we are closing some stores,” the company said on its website. “It was a difficult but necessary decision. But the good news is we still have hundreds of locations across the country.”
(hhgregg closing Columbus store, liquidation starts immediately)
Specifically, locally there will remain rue21 outlets at LaGrange Mall, 1501 Lafayette Parkway, LaGrange, Ga., and at Tiger Town Shopping Center, 2205 Tiger Town Parkway.
Warrendale, Pa.-based rue21 has reportedly been struggling financially for some time. Prior to the current downsizing, it had more than 1,200 stores in 48 states. Its growth in recent years had come from opening locations in smaller markets and cities in which competition was not as fierce.
(Sears and Kmart stores close in Columbus, Phenix City)
The closing of the Columbus Park Crossing store comes with Sears having recently shuttered its large department store at the large strip shopping center at the intersection of Veterans Parkway and J.R. Allen Parkway.
Appliance and electronics retailer hhgregg is now conducting a store closing sale at the center, with that entire chain closing amid a bankruptcy filing.
(Atlanta Bread closes its doors suddenly at Columbus Park Crossing)
And in late December, Atlanta Bread Company, adacent to Barnes & Noble bookstore, shut the doors of its Columbus Park Crossing eatery suddenly. “After 14 years of serving the Columbus community our franchisee owned and operated location has closed,” the company said in a statement at the time. “We look forward to re-entering the market at a later date.”
(Two stores close at Peachtree Mall in Columbus)
This story was originally published April 17, 2017 at 9:04 AM with the headline "Fashion retailer closing its doors at Columbus Park Crossing."