rue21 Makes a Change at CEO

Teen fashion retailer rue21 abruptly replaced longtime CEO Bob Fisch along with the company's head of merchandising in a surprise shake-up of key leadership on Saturday. Fisch, who has served as president and CEO since 2001, will be succeeded in the interim by Keith McDonough, the company's chief financial officer. The company said Kim Reynolds, general merchandise manager, will be replaced by former Target apparel executive Nina Barjesteh. McDonough has served as rue21's CFO for 13 years, and Barjesteh most recently was vice president and general merchandise manager of the women's apparel division at Target.

Total Retail's Take: While the changes rue21 made could be considered abrupt, the company has faced criticism for awhile around not adapting to changing industry trends. Analysts, for example, have been critical of rue21 for being slow to adapt to internet sales and for being behind the curve in recognizing changes in teen fashion.