Get ready to mourn the loss of a familiar mall staple. Aéropostale filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this morning. The chain will immediately close 154 of the 764 locations currently in operation, according to Reuters. Of the locations being shuttered, 113 are in the U.S. and 41 are in Canada.
A retailer going bankrupt is never a particularly pleasant occurrence. But Aéropostale’s scenario sounds a bit messier than most — the brand has accused Sycamore Partners (the private equity firm that controls its largest lender and also one of its largest suppliers) of causing the retailer to go bankrupt. However, according to The Wall Street Journal, Sycamore Partners denies those claims.
Last month, PacSun filed for bankruptcy, though the Cali-inflected chain isn’t the only familiar name to go through tough times lately. A couple of other '90s and early aughts teen fashion go-tos, like dELiA*s, Cache, and Quiksilver, have filed for bankruptcy. Granted, Quiksilver was subsequently bailed out and dELiA*s was resurrected last year, solely online, in an acquisition by the same guy who owns ‘90s retail rival, Alloy.
You can parse through a full list of locations shuttering ASAP here to see if your local outpost is disappearing. Which beloved teen brand will bite the dust next?
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