All rue21 locations in Southern Arizona to be shuttered

Warrendale, Pennsylvania-based teen clothing retailer rue21 is closing about one-third of its stores nationwide as it focuses more on its online business. The company made the announcement Saturday, April 15, with a note on the company’s website and Facebook.

As reported earlier this month, the company entered into forbearance over missing interest and amortization payments. At that time, the retailer’s debt was leveraged at more than 10 times its capital structure, and it was facing high interest rates while looking for new funding. The company’s debt was estimated around $824 million at the beginning of April, according to a Debtwire.com report.

Rue21 has more than 1,200 stores across the United States and will be shuttering nearly 400 stores, including 14 in Arizona and all six in southern Arizona, leaving it with more than 700 stores in 48 states.

In the Facebook post, it called the decision to close the stores “difficult but necessary.” Like many brick-and-mortar retailers, it has been battling declining mall traffic amid strong competition online.

The company didn’t say how soon the stores will close, though its website is promoting store-closing sales in the following Arizona stores:

Tucson

• Tucson Mall, 4500 N. Oracle Road
• Tucson Spectrum, 5373 S. Calle Santa Cruz
• Foothills Mall, 7401 N. LaCholla Boulevard

Casa Grande

• The Promenade at Casa Grande, 1269 N. Promenade Parkway

Nogales

• Nogales Plaza Shopping Center, 460 N. Grand Court Plaza

Sierra Vista

• The Mall At Sierra Vista, 2200 El Mercado Loop

Anthem

• Outlets At Anthem, 4250 W. Anthem Way

Flagstaff

• University Plaza, 1131 S. Plaza Way

Lake Havasu

• 5601 Highway 95 N.

Mesa

• Mesa Riverview, 849 N. Dobson Road

Payson

• Rim Country Mall, 400 E. Highway 260

Peoria

• Lake Pleasant Tower Center, 25546 N. Lake Pleasant Parkway

Queen Creek

• Queen Creek Marketplace, 21506 S. Ellsworth Loop #108

San Luis

• San Luis Shopping Center, 582 E. Piceno Drive

To check for store closures go to https://stores.rue21.com/search.html

The bankruptcy of Sports Authority has been looming since January, when the company disclosed that it had missed a $20 million debt payment.

The store closings will take place over the next three months. The bankruptcy filing will allow it to break leases for money-losing stores. As part of the restructuring, the Company has identified approximately 140-171 stores, including seven in Arizona and two distribution centers, in Denver and Chicago, that it intends to close or sell in the coming months.

The company has arranged to borrow up to $595 million to fund its operations while in bankruptcy. But to pay off that loan and come out of bankruptcy, it likely will have to find a buyer for the remaining stores.

When the company was bought by a hedge fund 10 years ago, it was the largest sporting goods retailer. But it has struggled with the debt load associated with a leveraged buyout a decade ago. It has been overtaken by Dick’s Sporting Goods, which has grown by providing a more high end shopping experience.

It has been an interesting ride for Sports Authority since it was acquired in 2006 by private equity firm Leonard Green & Partners for $1.3 billion. As the realities of the retail sector fluctuate, bricks-and-mortar legacy chains such as Sports Authority have the choice of adapting or dying off. Today, there are reports that the company is considering selling stores and assets to Dick’s Sporting Goods, according to a Reuters report.

The company has 14,500 full- and part-time employees at its 450 stores and its offices, according to the bankruptcy filing. Nearly two-thirds of those workers are part-time. It also disclosed more than $1 billion in liabilities and assets valued between $500,000 and $1 billion.

Sports Authority is just the latest retail giant to fall on hard times as more and more shopping moves online.

Sports Authority spends $6 million a year to have its name on the stadium that is home to the Denver Broncos, which just won the Super Bowl. Whether that 25-year naming rights deal will continue under the bankruptcy is unclear.

“This was a tough decision to make, but we believe it was a necessary step in our plan to make Sports Authority an even better partner for our customers,” said CEO Michael Foss. To read full message from CEO click here.

To see Sports Authority closure list. The attached list shows 171 store closures. The official number coming from Sports Authority to the public is 140 store closures.

A&G Realty Partners of Chicago has been commissioned to auction 87 stores leases. To see their Marketing Brochure click here.  We were told an auction for the real estate will likely take place on or about the middle of April. Bids are currently being accepted.

It seems almost surreal, the idea of life without RadioShack but, it’s true and we shall all soon be speaking in the past tense of “the RadioShacks that were”.

After hanging on for so many years in slow decline from its heydays of the ’80s,  Radio Shack filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection last week.

RadioShack currently has approximately 4,000 company owned stores in the U.S. Its more than 1,000 dealer franchise stores in 25 countries, the stores operated by its Mexican subsidiary, and its Asian operations are not included in the Chapter 11.

On its website, RadioShack has posted what it called a Potential Store Closure list.  It names 1,784 US RadioShack stores slated for possible closure. Of these there are 20 in Arizona, 12 in metro Phoenix, five in metro Tucson, and others in Flagstaff, Douglas, and Sierra Vista.

Here’s the locations in Arizona:

As we reported last week, RadioShack has signed an asset purchase agreement with General Wireless Inc., an affiliate of Standard General L.P. (“Standard General”). General Wireless has agreed to acquire between 1,500 and 2,400 of RadioShack’s U.S. Company-owned stores. To effectuate this transaction and an orderly sale of the Company’s remaining assets, RadioShack and certain of its U.S. subsidiaries have filed voluntary petitions for relief under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. As part of this process, other parties will have an opportunity to submit offers for RadioShack’s assets in a court-approved process. The sale agreement is subject to court approval and other conditions. RadioShack’s foreign subsidiaries and its franchisee-owned stores are not included in the filing.