On the record · Other
rue21
Apax's $1.1B acquisition led to three bankruptcies. From 1,200 stores at peak to liquidation.
Research depth
Outcomes researched
Reviewed operating findings or a classified operating outcome are available.
Record updated Sept. 4, 2026
Current ownership
Current owner not established
This record does not identify a current owner. That absence is a gap in the record, not a conclusion about ownership.
1 ownership record has an unresolved current/former status.
Ownership and transaction history
Chronology from recorded ownership periods, transactions and reviewed outcome events. Event order does not imply causation.
May 3, 2024
Operations ceased
Operating outcome
Sept. 1, 2024
Revival or successor activity recorded
Operating outcome
Date not recorded
What happened under and after ownership
Operating outcome
Ceased operations, then returned
Filed its third bankruptcy in May 2024 and closed all 540-plus stores after failing to find a going-concern buyer.
YM Inc. bought the brand and intellectual property for about $4 million and began reopening stores in late 2024; as of November 2025 it operates about 60 outlet locations plus e-commerce.
Operated today by YM Inc., which also owns Charlotte Russe.
- Founded
- 1976
- Sponsor at closure
- Blue Torch Capital
- CoStar · YM Inc. IP purchase and store reopenings
- Cleverism · rue21 traces to Pennsylvania Fashions, Inc., founded in 1976
- Bloomberg Law · rue21, majority owned by Blue Torch Capital, filed its third Chapter 11 in Delaware in May 2024 and closed all stores
- Retail Dive · rue21's roughly $1 billion debt load from Apax Partners' 2013 leveraged buyout, combined with over-eager store expansion, drove its 2017 bankruptcy and continue
What we do not know
These are gaps in the public record, not findings about the organization.
- No current public ownership assessment has been published.
Help improve this record
Firsthand experience, public sources and corrections can help close the gaps above.