WARRENDALE, Pa., Nov. 14, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- rue21, inc. ("rue21" or "the Company"), a leading specialty apparel retailer, celebrated the opening of its 1,000th store today. The store, located in the Enid Crossing Shopping Center in Enid, Oklahoma, is one of the Company's new rueGuy format stores and features an expanded assortment of young men's apparel and accessories in addition to the latest trends in girls' apparel, jewelry, footwear and beauty products that can be found in all rue21 locations.
"We are thrilled to announce the opening of our 1,000th store location today. This was a pivotal year for our Company: we launched our online website, introduced our new rueGuy store format, and transitioned from a publicly held to a privately owned company. We are looking forward to continuing our store expansion strategy and developing our brand as we grow past the one-thousand-store mark," stated Bob Fisch, rue21's President and Chief Executive Officer.
rue21 has been rapidly growing its store base during the last five years, successfully opening over 100 stores each year since going public in 2009. The Company anticipates growing to more than 1700 stores in the continental United States. "Our real estate model gives us the opportunity to open successfully in strip centers, regional malls and outlet centers in small or midsized communities where there are few teen specialty apparel retailers," stated Bob Thomson, Senior Vice President of Real Estate for rue21. "We are proud to be a part of communities like Enid and are excited by the potential for growth that we still see ahead of us across the country."
rue21 will be celebrating the landmark opening with a contest and awarding a $1,000 shopping spree to the grand prize winner. To participate in the online promotion social media fans can submit comments describing what they love about rue using the hashtag #rue1000things on Facebook or twitter. In addition, a store-wide event is planned to celebrate the 1,000 stores in all markets across the United States.
About rue21:
rue21, headquartered in Warrendale, PA, is a leading specialty retailer offering exclusive branded merchandise and the newest trends at a great value. rue21 currently operates 1,003 stores in 47 states and on its website, rue21.com, that launched earlier this month. Learn more at www.rue21.com