Posted on 05/04/2016 9:12:39 AM PDT by SeekAndFind
Aeropostale used to be one of the most popular teen retailers. Cheaper than Abercrombie & Fitch, and less bohemian than American Eagle, the brand was the go-to for teens who still wanted to fit in with the trends.
But those days are gone. The retailer has filed for bankruptcy protection, though it says it will be out of debt in six months.
Last June, Crain's New York reported that the retailer lost 95% of its value in just five years. The brand has plans to close 113 stores in the US and all 41 stores in Canada. According to Reuters, it had 739 stores and 25 PS from Aeropostale stores as of Sunday.
One reason for this massive decline? Teens are fleeing the brand in droves.
Piper Jaffray polled teens in its semiannual Taking Stock With Teens Survey to find out where they were — and weren't — shopping.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
My oldest son, the marketing major and fashionista, said that Aeropostale decided to change their line and target pre-teens, but they didn’t market the new look effectively.
Well when you rent expensive mall retail space, and put s couple of small tables of merchandise, which is so flimsy it feels like it will dissolve in the washing machine, what do you expect?
They are lucky to have cashed in while they could. I hope they socked away some of it. Hollister is next, and for the same reasons.
(Although I must say my daughter got a nice, extremely well made, fleece-lined hoodie jacket there - I wish they had it in real MAN sizes - I need a 3XL and the biggest one there is like a medium on me)
If I don’t know how to pronounce the name of your store....
Both my maiden and married last names are short German names which end with a pronounced, not silent “e”. I encounter a name like this and just don’t know what to do! ;-)
Their clientele grew up, and they never adjusted to the new clientele.
The first I ever heard of this store was 3 maybe 4 years ago one night the week of Christmas my husband and I went mall crawling to see how many people were actually shopping. We happened upon this store neither of us could pronounce and went in. OH MY GOD. It looked like a tornado just went through there.
Since I’m not hip cool or trendy, neither am I young, I didn’t see the appeal. The sales lady told us it was 75% off, the only appeal. The store was in trouble then but I guess hanging on ?
I thank God I never had girls. Just saying.
Having teens as your target market is a ticking timebomb. Every few years you’ve got to get a whole new set of customers, and the one thing you know about them is they DON’T want to be like the last set.
They overplayed the use of their logo. Seriously, how many t-shirts does one need that all say Aeropostale.
For retailers that can’t keep up with fast changing trends, assign someone to watch Korean dramas. I see fashions there that turn up 6-12 months later in the mall.
I always thought that they and Tommy H and all the others who expect us to PAY to wear their billboard advertising were ridiculous.
Just like the buses around town that are so emblazoned with advertising should give much cheaper fares for having to ride in their mobile billboards. In this case, though, I suspect my taxes pay for almost all the bus riders’ rides.
That’s because the teens are 10 years older now and not teens anymore. :-)
I wish they had it in real MAN sizes - I need a 3XL and the biggest one there is like a medium on me.
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http://www.duluthtrading.com/store/mens/mens-outerwear/big-tall-outerwear/bt-outerwear.aspx
Surprised there are any malls still in operation.
They are mall centric, and most malls are dying. Perhaps they could pick up some Sports Authority locations.
The Feds should subsidize Aero to keep them alive.
There are tons of 30-40 something moms still trying to stuff their size 12 soft parts into size 6 clothes and continue to look like teens.
Most shopping malls consist of 60% or higher of their stores being geared to female clothing or shoes. The days of starting up a new fashion line store with loud trendy music blaring and exotic or European sounding brand names is long gone.
Bill the Son says they were changing that, but it was too late.
Maybe they'll have success with their new positioning when they come out of bankruptcy.
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