Say Goodbye to Aéropostale…Possibly Forever

Remember when Aéropostale used to be cool? Yeah, me neither. I do remember shopping there at the ripe old age of 13 when Abercrombie was too expensive and my mom was too uncomfortable taking me to Hot Topic. However, not before long I was introduced to the likes of Forever 21 and H&M where all the cool, older, hipster girls shopped. Aéropostale became a thing of the past.

Now, it’s literally becoming a thing of the past. The teen clothing store on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, following in the footsteps of PacSun and Sports Authority, and will be closing all of its stores in Canada and 113 in the United States. The retailer currently has about 800 stores.

Something about the store just isn’t attracting shoppers like it used to. Perhaps the large, cartoonish logos and same shirt and pant combinations but in 12 different colors isn’t fulfilling teens’ clothing needs. In a world where every youth strives to be different and authentic, Aéropostale just doesn’t have the inventory.

CEO Julian Geiger said according to Forbes, “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.”

The retailer’s stock did so poorly that the New York Exchange delisted it two weeks ago. However, they are implementing cost-cutting measures and focusing on re-branding.

Will it be enough to save them? So far, no one can tell, but American teenagers probably don’t mind much either way.