Euro fast fashion is taking the scissors to US speciality apparel brands

New York

VISITORS to the newly redeveloped Kings Plaza shopping mall in Brooklyn later this year will encounter brand-new, multi-level Primark and Zara stores. Names not on the directory? Debt-laden older brands such as J Crew, Rue21 and True Religion.

"Euro fast fashion", featuring trendy clothing that can move from catwalks to stores in mere weeks, has taken the United States by storm, and speciality apparel retailers in distress are among the biggest casualties.

Their business models and balance sheets are in tatters, especially at smaller and slower chains that jacked …