Aeropostale closing in Colony Square Mall
ZANESVILLE – The Aeropostale location in Colony Square Mall is among the 154 stores the company will close.
Aeropostale plans to close nine stores in Ohio and 113 in the U.S. It also will close 41 stores in Canada. The company said 117 of the stores set to close are not profitable and responsible for $17 million in losses in 2015, according to a court filing.
Aeropostale's sales declined 18 percent in 2015.The mall-based fashion retailer for young women and men filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Wednesday in a New York court.
The Ohio closings, in addition to Zanesville, are Indian Mound Mall in Heath; Eastland Mall in Columbus; Summit Mall in Akron; Tri-County and Eastgate malls in Cincinnati; Eastwood Mall in Niles; Ohio Valley Mall in St. Clairsville; and Southern Park Mall in Youngstown.
Aeropostale did not give a closing date for the stores or say how many employees will be affected. The company did say it will move quickly. Liquidation sales are expected to start as early as Saturday.
Kevin Pinson, business development and marketing coordinator for Colony Square Mall, referred all questions to Melissa Heanue with Rouse Properties, which owns the mall. Questions concerning the mall's number of stores, including recent closures, and the mall's future had to be emailed to Heanue.
She then forwarded the questions to Matthew Chudoba, a senior associate with Rouse Properties. Chudoba declined to comment on store closures or future development at the mall. He did, however, say Planet Fitness recently opened at the mall. Last month, Planet Fitness Managing Partner Mark Christie told the TR the new facility would open in June, and is holding early enrollment outside the GNC store in the mall through May 13.
The bankruptcy filing comes after a dispute between Aeropostale and one of its largest suppliers, MGF Sourcing, a division of Sycamore Partners, which demanded cash on delivery as the retailer's finances deteriorated, according to a court filing.
"The ripple effects of an ongoing dispute with our second-largest supplier put substantial strain on our liquidity while also preventing us from realizing the full benefits of our turnaround plans," Aeropostale CEO Julian Geiger said in a statement. "As a result, we have chosen to take more decisive and aggressive action to create a leaner, more efficient business that is well-positioned to compete and succeed in today's retail environment."
Aeropostale has 739 stores and about 14,500 employees in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Canada. It also has 25 P.S. from Aeropostale stores in 12 states and licenses its brand to more than 300 stores in 17 countries. The company listed $354 million in assets and $390 million in debts in its bankruptcy petition.
The retailer said it intends to emerge from bankruptcy within six months
Department store chain Macy's launched Aeropostale as a private label brand in the early 1980s and opened the first Aeropostale standalone stores in 1987. The chain was sold along with other Macy's specialty stores in 1998 to Aeropostale executives and other investors.