A Trilogy of Truth: Rue 21 Revealed
All three articles about the Rue21 bankruptcy in one place
Earlier this year, I got the scoop of my writing career.
As I was scrolling TikTok, I learned about Rue21's bankruptcy. On a hunch, I asked the good people on LinkedIn if they had anything to share - anonymously.
I woke to seventeen direct messages. My inbox was flooded. The messages kept coming.
I learned that the company was going under and had been mishandled for years. People from every division of the company wrote me to tell their stories. Over the next three days, I worked nonstop to weave them all together.
The experience was humbling. I'm so honored that people trusted me to tell their stories.
The first newsletter I wrote about it was published on May 9, 2024. It has racked up over 66,000 views and ranked number one on Google for days under the search "Rue 21 bankruptcy."
Many store employees shared it widely, and I thank them all. Here it is—the first article in the Rue 21 trilogy.
After piecing together the mismanagement of the company, I wanted to tell another story - the story of the people who work in distribution warehouses. Their work goes unseen.
The group that worked in the Rue21 warehouses in West Virginia were tight-knit. Some people had worked there for decades. They found out suddenly that they were out of work and out of healthcare.
This is their story.
Rue Part 2: How Rue21's Bankruptcy Impacts Unseen Workers in a Struggling Town
There are several invisible forces that make our lives livable and convenient. Behind the scenes, a vast, unseen workforce show up daily, working late nights and arriving before sunrise to keep our economy churning.
If the rue21 bankruptcy happened ten years ago, I wouldn't be talking about it. However, it happened precisely at the intersection of fuck around and find out fueled by TikTok.
The last article in the series is dedicated to the cultural shift.
Bad behavior is no longer tolerable, and people are unafraid to speak up.
Here we are.
Workers Unite as Culture Shifts. How Rue21's Bankruptcy Became a Rallying Cry.
Running a retail floor is gritty, dynamic, and it can be downright dirty. Need to get a box for those designer sunglasses? Well, get on the floor because they're stored in a drawer under the case. There is no leaning over to find them. The style numbers on the box are so tiny they're almost impossible to read up close, …
I was consumed by the Rue21 story—consumed in the best way possible. I wanted to do right by everyone who shared stories with me and sent me messages.
After the first story was published, I had many messages that said,
“Yep. This is what happened. You got it right.”
It was a wild thing to experience.
Again, thank you to everyone who trusted me to tell your story.
I’ll never forget you.
Kit Campoy is an author and retail expert with 20+ years of experience leading retail teams. She thrived on building relationships with customers and motivating sales teams. Now, as a ghostwriter, she leverages this people-centric approach to craft compelling content that resonates and ignites brand loyalty.
So glad to see these awesome articles again but that white board is the BEST!!! People who work for you are not stupid, company head offices. CEO's of all companies need to wake up!