Aeropostale Gets Approval on Sale to Mall Group
Aeropostale lives to fight another day. Bloomberg reports the retailer won court permission to sell its assets to buyers led by Simon Property Group Inc. and General Growth Properties Inc after the landlords banded together with liquidators to save jobs and stores. The Sept. 2 auction revealed that with a $243 million bid, Aeropostale will be able to keep at least 229 stores. Due to saturation in the fast-fashion market, tough competition and a changing retail environment, Aeropostale filed for bankruptcy in May.
Total Retail's Take: It's great that Aeropostale is able to keep some doors open and people working, but the story to come out of this (familiar) tale is a new solution. After Simon Property Group and General Growth Properties banded together to avoid the outright liquidation of the brand, Aeropostale successfully argued that keeping it in business would save over 7,000 jobs. In addition, 570 or so now-vacant Aeropostale stores offer malls new spaces for growing consumer experiences — e.g., restaurants, pop-up shops, clinics and more. This compromised approach to retail bankruptcies could be a model for the industry. Now if only this type of deal was made a few months ago before Sports Authority decided to liquidate …
