National clothing retailer will close all its stores, including 3 in Kansas City area

The teen clothing retailer Rue 21 announced last week that it has filed for bankruptcy and will close all 540 of its stores.

That includes three locations in the Kansas City area: at Ward Parkway Shopping Center, Independence Center and Legends Outlets Kansas City.

An employee at the Legends store said Tuesday that the shop would likely close by the end of the month. Men’s and women’s clothes were marked down 30%-50%.

The Pittsburgh-based company, founded in 1970 as Pennsylvania Fashions, had about 1,000 stores, mostly in U.S. malls, at its peak. It is now majority-owned by Blue Torch Capital, a private equity firm.

In a court filing, interim CEO Michele Pascoe said the bankruptcy was the result of “under-performing retail locations, increased industry competition and the uptick in online shopping, inflation and macroeconomic headwinds, and challenges raising capital.”

It is the second mall staple in less than a month to announce a bankruptcy. Express in April said it would close 95 stores, including its Zona Rosa location , following its bankruptcy filing.