Apparel

Tough times have caught up with Rue 21.   The struggling teen apparel chain plans to close nearly 400 stores nationwide, the Associated Press reported. The shutterings will leave the retailer with about 700 stores nationwide.   Rue 21 confirmed the news in a post on its Facebook page, calling it a “difficult but necessary” decision.   

A slump in consumer prices helped to keep retail sales in check in March.   Retail sales in March inched up 0.3% over February, according to the National Retail Federation. (The NRF numbers exclude automobiles, gasoline stations and restaurants.)   “Various factors were at play in the first quarter, but we are again seeing a pattern similar to previous years — consumer spending was weak but is expected to pick up as we move through the year,” said NRF chief economist Jack Kleinhenz.

Nearly 50 years after it opened its first location, Cracker Barrel Old Country Store has landed on the West Coast.    The chain, which combines a family-friendly restaurant with an old-fashioned country store, has opened Tualatin, Oregon. The location marks a key expansion of the company’s footprint.  

British online fast-fashion retailer Missguided makes the leap to physical retail with a high-concept, high-impact store at Westfield Stratford City mall in London.   Featuring an “on-air” television studio concept, the 20,000-sq.-ft. space delivers a dynamic live stream of real-time content, fashion and inspiration in a bold environment. It reflects the desire of its young, Snapchat-obsessed core audience for the new by offering a constantly changing space that includes plenty of shareable moments.    

In “Democracy in America,” political theorist Alexis de Tocqueville wrote, “there is hardly a political question in the United States which does not sooner or later turn into a judicial one.” Nearly 200 years later, this statement rings true — maybe now, more than ever.   

Shinola, the Detroit-based watch and leather goods brand with a cool edge, has expanded its presence in New York City.     The company has opened a store in the newly developed Empire Stores center in Brooklyn. The sprawling, renovated warehouse complex is located on the waterfront and is home to tech and advertising companies along with select retailers, including West Elm.    

Destination Maternity Corp. saw its loss widen in the fourth quarter and the full year amid declining same-store sales and its exit from several businesses.     The maternity clothing retailer reported a loss $32.8 million, which included a $27.8 million non-cash income tax charge. Its adjusted net loss was $3.2 million, compared to an adjusted net loss of $1.5 million in the year-ago period.   Revenue totaled $100.2 million in the period. Same-store sales fell 7.8%.   

American Girl is building a new and bigger flagship in the Big Apple.     The specialty retailer will open a new, 40,000-sq.-ft. American Girl Place at 75 Rockefeller Plaza in Manhattan. The new location, scheduled to open in fall 2017, will replace the brand’s existing flagship at 609 Fifth Avenue.    The new location is being built by Englewood Construction, and is the 12th project Englewood has completed for American Girl.