Charlotte Russe is an American clothing retail chain store that operates in the United States, headquartered in San Francisco, California. Fashions in the stores are targeted at women in their teens and twenties. , Charlotte Russe operates 135 stores, mostly in malls and shopping centers.
History
Charlotte Russe was founded in 1975 by Daniel Lawrence and his two brothers, all who worked in their family's
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
clothing business. Lawrence and his siblings formed Lawrence Merchandising Corp. in
Carlsbad, California
Carlsbad is a coastal city in the North County region of San Diego County, California, United States. The city is south of downtown Los Angeles and north of downtown San Diego. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 114,746. ...
. With the first Charlotte Russe storefront in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United States ...
, other locations were established throughout the 1970s and early 1980s.
The company was acquired in 1996 by the investment firm of SKM (
Saunders Karp & Megrue). The new owners had expansion plans for Charlotte Russe - evolving it into a national chain of
shopping mall
A shopping mall (or simply mall) is a North American term for a large indoor shopping center, usually anchored by department stores. The term "mall" originally meant a pedestrian promenade with shops along it (that is, the term was used to refe ...
stores. SKM took Charlotte Russe public in 1999 until
Advent International
Advent International is a global private equity firm focused on buyouts of companies in Western and Central Europe, North America, Latin America and Asia. The firm focuses on international buyouts, growth and strategic restructuring in five core ...
acquired it in 2009. As President and CEO, Jenny Ming led Charlotte Russe into a private holding once again.
It filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on February 4, 2019. In April 2019 the brand was bought by Toronto-based YM Inc., according to a press release.
In November 22, 2019 there were 135 stores with additional planned.
Important dates
*1975: Lawrence brothers open first Charlotte Russe store, in Carlsbad, California.
*1990: Charlotte Russe moves into Arizona.
*1992: Company expands into Nevada.
*1994: Clothing manufacturer Rampage Clothing Co. opens first retail outlet.
*1996: Investment firm SKM buys Charlotte Russe.
*1997: Company buys Rampage, with 15 stores nationwide.
*1999: Charlotte Russe Holding goes public.
*2019: Charlotte Russe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy
*2019: Charlotte Russe, is purchased by YM Inc
See also
*
Retail apocalypse
A retail apocalypse is the closing of numerous brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially those of large chains worldwide. It began around 2010, and was severely exacerbated by the mandatory closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2017, over ...
*
List of retailers affected by the retail apocalypse
The following retailers have all either closed or announced plans to close large numbers of retail locations, since 2010, during a time period labelled a "retail apocalypse" by media, accelerated by both the increase in online shopping and then by ...
References
External links
* {{Official website, www.charlotterusse.com
Bankruptcy website
Clothing brands of the United States
Clothing retailers of the United States
Companies based in San Diego
Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2019
Retail companies established in 1975
Retail companies disestablished in 2019
1975 establishments in California
2019 disestablishments in California
American companies established in 1975
American companies disestablished in 2019
Clothing companies established in 1975
Clothing companies disestablished in 2019