Rue21 closing 400 stores, 13 in Mississippi

Rue21 is closing about a third of its stores around the country. The company is a privately held teen clothing retailer based near Pittsburgh.

The Associated Press reported the retailer will close about 400 stores out of a total of nearly 1,200. Rue21 responded to the report via Facebook over the weekend.

Of the 24 rue21 locations in Mississippi, the company will close 13 locations including Batesville, Brookhaven, Columbia, Corinth, Flowood, Greenville, Greenwood, Hattiesburg, McComb, Meridian, Oxford, Philadelphia and Vicksburg.

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Rue21 is among many brick-and-mortar retailers that have struggled amid rising online competition, changing consumer preferences and what some analysts see as a U.S. market oversaturated with stores.

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