Abercrombie & Fitch to close Ruehl stores

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Preppy retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will close its Ruehl division because of the recession and its negative effects on the chain’s business, the company said this week.

With 29 stores, Ruehl was Abercrombie’s ‘post-grad’ concept and featured upscale jeans and tops for young adults. The company said all Ruehl stores would close by the end of the fiscal year.

‘It has been a difficult decision to close Ruehl, a brand we continue to believe could have been successful in different circumstances,’ Chief Executive Mike Jeffries said in a statement. ‘All of our brands will benefit from our experience and lessons learned with Ruehl.’

Abercrombie said the Ruehl division generated a pre-tax operating loss of about $58 million for the fiscal year ended Jan. 31. Ruehl’s Southern California locations include stores at the Americana at Brand in Glendale and the Oaks Shopping Center in Thousand Oaks.

Abercrombie, based in New Albany, Ohio, has suffered some of the retail industry’s worst sales results in recent months, stemming in part from the company’s refusal to engage in widespread price-slashing. This month the company reported that sales at stores open at least a year fell 28% in May compared with the same period a year earlier. Sales at Ruehl were down 33% year-over-year.

The company operates 350 Abercrombie & Fitch stores, 210 Abercrombie stores, 507 Hollister Co. stores, 29 Ruehl stores and 16 Gilly Hicks stores in the United States, plus several international locations.

-- Andrea Chang