Similar to Abercrombie & Fitch's moose logo and Hollister Co.'s seagull, Ruehl featured a French bulldog named "Trubble" embroidered on its clothing and accessories.
On June 17, 2009, Abercrombie & Fitch announced it would cease operations of the Ruehl brand.[1]
History
Conception
After the financial success of Hollister in 2000, Mike Jeffries began developing three additional retail concepts. The first of these to be revealed was Ruehl in September 2004, which targeted 20-to-30 somethings.[4] According to the company, the store took its name from the Ruehl family, who moved from Germany in the mid-19th century and opened a leather goods emporium at 925 Greenwich Street in Manhattan. However, there is no Ruehl family and the address doesn't exist.[5]
The first location opened at the International Plaza and Bay Street mall in Tampa, Florida, followed by Woodfield Mall in Chicago, and the third at the Garden State Plaza in Paramus, New Jersey. These stores were used to test the market before future expansion. While the clothing was similar to that of Abercrombie & Fitch, Ruehl was priced 22% higher.[4]
Stores
Ruehl storefront at Fashion Valley Mall.
Ruehl's storefront was made to look like a Manhattan townhouse with a brick facade, wrought-iron fence, and potted topiary.[5] The interior was sectioned off into numerous bedrooms, living rooms, and conservatories meant to mimic the interior of a home. Bookshelves lined the "living room", chandeliers hung from the ceiling of the "bedrooms", portraits sat on the floor, tilted against walls, and a central hallway divided the store in half.
Locations
At the time of the concept's closure, Ruehl had 29 full-line store locations in the United States:[1]
In July 2007, Levi Strauss & Co. filed a lawsuit against Abercrombie & Fitch for trademark infringement, alleging that Ruehl jeans and other products used Levi's trademarked pocket design of connected arches. Levi's filed a similar suit against Polo Ralph Lauren.[7]
