Fashion Brands Plus Size Lines Keep Failing — Why?

But slow and steady may, indeed, win the race. At least that seems to be the case for Rue21, which has also prioritized extended sizes over the past year. “With any new initiative, you take it in phases,” says Candace Kearney, senior director of plus merchandising of Rue21, which has been building its plus-size assortment in-store and online through the pandemic. The brand began by incorporating plus into a smaller percentage of stores, then growing it nationally as the demand grew as well. Now, more than 70% of its stores carry extended sizes. “We launched that [initiative], we learned from it, we’ve refined and readjusted, and then we rolled out those successes,” says Kearney.