Top U.S. Mall Developer Says Aéropostale Could Grow Back To 500 Stores
How’s this for a vote of confidence? The No. 1 mall developer, Simon Property Group thinks struggling and recently bankrupt teen apparel chain Aéropostale could bounce back in a major way and potentially double its store fleet. The retailer, a mall fixture for years, was bought out of bankruptcy in September by a group of investors that included Simon and the No. 2 mall developer, General Growth Properties, The new owners, which also included Authentic Brands Group, and liquidators Hilco and Gordon Brothers, submitted a winning $243 million bid that avoided outright liquidation of the whole chain and aimed to keep it going as a 240-store chain, down from a pre-bankruptcy size of 800-stores. But Simon Property Group CEO David Simon told investors last week Aéropostale could recover to become twice that reduced size again. Read more at Fortune.
