Rue21 Boots Longtime CEO As Part Of A Big Executive Shake-Up

Teen fashion retailer rue21 announced some pretty major executive change-ups over the weekend that ran all the way to the top — literally.

A surprise Sunday news drop indicates that long-time CEO Bob Fisch is stepping down to be replaced in the interim by CFO Keith McDonough. Fisch has been with the firm in the top job for the last 15 years.

No reason for his departure has been officially offered as of yet, though rue21’s recent struggle to maintain market share has been largely laid at Fisch’s feet. The firm was named last week in a Fitch Ratings report as one of several retail chains in danger of default. Its core issues have been keeping up with changing fashion trends and inability to transition smoothly thus far to the digital age of retail.

Fisch is not the only high profile departure, however. General merchandise manager Kim Reynolds is out — replaced by Nina Barjesteh, who will be taking on the role of chief merchandising officer.

Barjesteh comes to rue21 via Target, where she served as the VP, general merchandise manager of the women’s apparel division during her two-plus decades in retail.

Chief customer officer, a newly created position, will be taken on by Elizabeth Hodges, who joins the team after almost a decade at Chico’s FAS. Hodges has also worked with J.C. Penney, American Eagle and Lane Bryant.

“We thank Bob Fisch and Kim Reynolds for their 15 years of collaboration and passion in building rue21 into a leading teen specialty apparel retailer,” said interim CEO McDonough. “We are very excited to have Nina Barjesteh and Liz Hodges join the rue21 leadership team. They both will play key roles as we further position our business for long-term growth.”

As for that turnaround — the privately held rue21 says it will actually be expanding its store footprint by 40 locations and upgrade 100 of its stores in fiscal 2016. They are also looking to prioritize e-commerce — digital sales are up 90 percent in the first half of 2016 — to and develop a ship-to-store program.

“We continue to execute on the strategic initiatives we set out for 2016 and the longer-term, including strengthening our brand, our merchandise assortments and our omnichannel capabilities, in addition to increasing our square footage,” McDonough said.