Aéropostale in West Oaks Mall among 113 of company's store closures

OCOEE  Teen-focused retailer Aéropostale announced May 4 that it will be closing 113 of its 739 stores across the nation, including the one at the West Oaks Mall in Ocoee.

According to the company’s press release, it has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in order to shed debt and is planning to restructure the company for the purpose of ultimately achieving long-term financial stability.

The company has secured a commitment for $160 million in debtor-in-possession financing from Crystal Financial LLC, which will help propel it toward its vision of meeting financial necessities going forward. Additionally, the release states that motions have been filed that will allow Aéropostale to continue paying employees and to honor existing gift cards without interruption, upon Court approval.

“The most important thing to know is that Aéropostale stores are open, and we fully intend to continue selling the latest styles at the same great prices both in stores and online,” said Aéropostale CEO Julian Geiger in an official statement.

Along with the Ocoee location, six other Florida stores — located in Sarasota, Vero Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Estero and Miami — are set to shutter their doors, according to the company’s list of store closures.

For more information, visit arorestructuring.com.

Contact Danielle Hendrix at [email protected].