Dive Brief:

• Boutique apparel retailer Scoop NYC closed its SoHo flagship store in New York City last week and is also shuttering its 14 remaining stores across the country, including locations in other New York boroughs as well as Atlanta, Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas and Dallas, according to the New York Business Journal.

• Increased competition, too-big stores and high rents helped fell the 20-year-old company, which has been owned by private equity firm Yucaipa Cos. since 2007.

• Scoop NYC had been hopeful for a sale that didn’t pan out despite some interest, according to reports.

Dive Insight:

Scoop NYC had many of the hallmarks of that define a successful apparel retailer, including curated merchandise from designer labels that helped foster the boutique approach that many consumers currently favor. Label partners included Missoni, Mason by Michelle Mason, Alice + Olivia and Rag & Bone.

But some of those same partners opened their own stores, and department stores also started featuring many of the same brands, introducing some tough competition. Scoop NYC also had the bad luck of signing leases at a time when landlords could demand top dollar, according to reports.

“They needed scale, not less units," a source told Women's Wear Daily, according to Racked. "That's really the issue and that became evident.”

Scoop NYC was founded in 1996. "There's real love for the brand from our customers," Susan Davidson, Scoop's CEO, told Fashion Times. "We started to expand our own private label with fur, leather, cashmere, shoes made in Italy and accessories. We grew our accessories business from 8% to 25% Private label had strong growth even in these difficult times. It was some of our most fashionable products."