Landlord Deals to Keep 400 Aeropostale Stores Open

Aéropostale will keep 400 of its 720 stores open following a deal with mall landlords to lower rents, up from the 229 stores under a plan approved by a bankruptcy judge last week.

The teen retailer was saved after Simon Property Group, General Growth Properties and Authentic Brands Group acquired it for $243 million. 

This latest move will save about 5,300 jobs, according to press reports.

"We are pleased to be part of this consortium that has saved thousands of jobs and preserved a legendary American brand," said David Simon, Chairman and CEO,Simon Property Group, in a prepared statement. "We are encouraged by the tremendous amount of support we have received from employees, vendors and other landlords."

“Aéropostale has significant brand equity and the go-forward portfolio of stores generates more than $1 billion in global retail sales, over $800 million of which is from the U.S.,” said Sandeep Mathrani, CEO, GGP. “The entity is financially secure and well capitalized and we are very pleased that thousands of jobs will be preserved.”

“This consortium brings a new approach to brand development and Aéropostale brings another facet to ABG’s fashion portfolio,” said Jamie Salter, Chairman and CEO, ABG. “The purchase of Aéropostale propels the retail revenue driven by ABG’s brands to over $4.5 billion USD in retail sales worldwide. We look forward to working closely with our new partners, General Growth Properties and Simon Property Group to continue to grow the Aéropostale brand on a global scale.”