We visited a Charlotte Russe store the day the retailer filed for bankruptcy
The store we visited was located in the busy Herald Square shopping area in New York City.
As we approached the store, it became apparent why the store is struggling: the clothing in the window felt uninspiring.
While prices were cheap ...
... they were not cheap enough to keep up with the likes of online brands such as Fashion Nova and Boohoo, for example.
These so-called ultra-fast-fashion stores are churning out cheap and trendy clothing.
Fashion Nova rolls out more than 1,000 new styles a week. Many of these new items are immediately uploaded to Instagram so that shoppers can see the latest trends quickly.
Online brands are putting pressure on stores such as Charlotte Russe that are simply not able to keep up the same pace.
Fashion Nova has access to more than 1,000 manufacturers, so it can keep the supply chain fast.
Any unwanted clothing just ends up in the clearance racks, taking up valuable space in the store.
These items didn't seem to be last season, however. There was a ton of plain apparel here.
While the liquidation sales hadn't started yet, there were still plenty of deals.
Overall, the quality of the clothing didn't feel great.
And while the store was generally well-organized, the shopping experience didn't seem exciting enough to lure customers offline.
Charlotte Russe has struggled for some time as its debt has mounted. Last year, it trimmed its debt load from $214 million to $90 million in a restructuring deal.
Source: Retail Dive
It wasn't enough to stave off a bankruptcy, however.
Jenny Ming, Charlotte Russe's CEO, had an impressive resume before taking on the role in 2009.
She was one of the early employees at Old Navy and went on to become president of the brand. According to CNBC, under her management, the company grew to be a $6.7 billion business with 900 stores.
Old Navy is now one the most successful parts of Gap Inc.'s business.
It seems she hasn't had the same luck with Charlotte Russe.
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