In February Charlotte Russe, a clothing store that specializes in teen and young adult fashion filed for bankruptcy. Mostly located in malls, which have slowly declined in foot traffic over the last few years, Charlotte Russe was unable to meet needed sales goals to stay ahead. With the announcement of their bankruptcy, the retailer declared its intention to close 100 locations. According to CSG data, the clothing store had already closed stores between 2018 and 2019 going from 548 units down to 528.

A month later, the retailer announced it would be closing all stores and liquidating assets. Stores received their last shipment of the new spring fashion line with hopes that a “Going out of Business” sale would help their numbers. It seemed to work; with sales of 40%-70% off, customers flocked to their local Charlotte Russe locations to take advantage of the great deals. The retailer reported seeing numbers similar to those of Black Friday, and by the end of the month, they were sold out.

Two weeks later the retailer announced its intentions to re-open 100 stores after selling the company and its brand to YM Inc. YM Inc. is a fashion company based out of Toronto Canada holding nine trade names including Urban Planet and West 49 (Charlotte Russe will make ten) with a total of 593 stores in nine US states and across Canada. Eric Grundy, CEO of YM spoke in early April saying he believed having Charlotte Russe in their portfolio would help with YM’s growth strategies. Charlotte Russe currently has 82.8K followers on Twitter and 952K followers on Instagram, proving the retailer’s fans clearly love them. If YM can rebrand the retailer to meet YM’s high standards and bring the clothing store back to their “trendy and hip” roots, it’s possible Charlotte Russe could make a comeback.

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