Is Aeropostale still popular?
And like many of these ailing merchants, Aeropostale had been struggling for several years. The chain has racked up three years of annual losses and five straight years of annual sales declines for a key measure. Annual sales shrunk to $1.5 billion last year, down nearly 40 percent from $2.4 billion in 2010.
Aeropostale has gone from struggling to stay relevant to struggling to stay alive. Sales declines have accelerated -- plummeting 16% in the three months ending January 30. Aeropostale was forced to resort to extremely heavy discounts, fueling a loss of $22 million.
The surge in denim and tiny-top sales comes barely five years after the company filed for bankruptcy. In 2016, Authentic Brands Group purchased Aeropostale out of bankruptcy for $240 million. Marc Miller, CEO of the joint venture SPARC, made up of ABG and Simon Property Group, set off to turn the brand around.
Their target audience is teens
The target age group for the company is teenagers between the ages of 14 to 17. They also operate a division geared towards 4 to 12 year old groups that is called the P.S. from Aeropostale.
2016 Bankruptcy
Aéropostale filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on May 4, 2016, with assets of $354 million. The company closed 113 of its 739 U.S. stores and all 41 (in addition to 20 already closed prior to the filing) in Canada, the majority of which were unprofitable and responsible for the company's losses.
Today, the retailer announced it was making good on its promise of a big comeback. Aeropostale revealed plans to reopen more than 500 doors across the U.S. starting this week.
However, Aeropostale was forced to constantly discount the entire store by as much as 70 percent off because they couldn't get shoppers to buy the clothes. “They were too caught up in the promotions,” said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics, a retail research firm.
Aeropostale was actually exceptionally good at branding themselves. In 2006, they had $1.41 billion in sales, which is almost $2 billion in 2021 when you adjust for inflation. Some quick back-of-napkin math suggests that they probably got 50-100 million articles of clothing into customers' hands in that year alone.
Aéropostale is going through the bankruptcy process in part to shed unprofitable stores and trim down its fleet, as those locations have been a major drain on its delicate finances. The retailer announced it would close 154 stores (113 in the U.S. and 41 in Canada).
Aeropostale was once a high flyer. Twenty-three years after parent company Macy's opened the first Aeropostale location in Los Angeles' Westside Pavilion Mall, the teen apparel chain reached its zenith in 2010: Sales soared to $2.4 billion, and its stock price ascended to an all-time peak of $32.24 per share.
Is Aeropostale owned by American Eagle?
Aéropostale is one of American eagle outfitters' main competitors. The company was established in 1987 by Bryan Alberto. The company has a total of 1,008 stores spread across North America, Central America, and the Middle East. In 2005, the company established an online store.
