Aéropostale, a higher-end clothing retailer aimed at young people, has filed for bankruptcy and is closing all 41 of its stores in Canada, including the one Sudbury.
In a statement on the U.S.-based retailer's website, the company said it expects to be able to restructure and continue operating during the restructuring. It's also closing 113 of its 739 stores in the United States.
“Store closing sales are scheduled to begin in the U.S. during the weekend of May 7-8, and in Canada during the week of May 9,” the statement said. “We also expect to honour all gift cards in full, offer new store promotions, continue employee wages and benefits without interruption, uphold the terms of our international licensee agreements and pay suppliers in the normal course of business for all goods and services delivered on or after May 4, 2016.”
Once worth almost US $2.6 billion, Aéropostale's market capitalization has fallen to about US$2 million, according to a story by the Reuters news agency.
“The company's shares traded for more than US$30 six years ago, when annual sales exceeded US$2 billion,” the story said. “Two weeks ago, it was delisted from the New York Stock Exchange with shares having failed to break the $1 barrier since last year.”
The company is the latest American retailer to pull up stakes in Canada. Last year, Target vacated its space in New Sudbury and in all its locations across the country after failing to catch on with Canadian consumers.
