What: Ruehl No.925, or just plain “Ruehl,” was meant to pick up where abercrombie and fitch(its creator) left off. Not many 20 somethings are shelling out $100 on a pair of jeans right now. All 29 stores, located in 15 states (primarily on the East Coast), are set shut down by January 2010. Targeted to the 22 to 35-year-old post-college, elitest crowd, the chain just couldn’t cut it in this recession.
What They Say: abercrombie and fitch took a $51 million impairment charge related to Ruehl in the first quarter and will have to charge off an additional $65 million over the rest of the year. Wall Street criticized abercrombie and fitch
for taking so long to close Ruehl. Same-store sales at Ruehl fell 33 percent in May alone.
What We Say: If you live near a Ruehl store, don’t rush there for a mini shopping marathon, hoping to cash in on all kinds of pre-closing deals. We do, however, abercrombie and fitch expect some great savings around the corner - Ruehl already started slashing prices before the bad news. Find out when it’s abercrombie and fitch scheduled to shut down and then check in a few weeks and even days before.
