FINANCE

In a move rumored for weeks, Aéropostale on Wednesday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

The struggling teen apparel retailer said it would close 113 stores in the United States and all 41 of its stores in Canada. Store closing sales in the United States will begin this weekend (May 7-8), and in Canada during the week of May 9.

Aeropostale will reportedly file for bankruptcy protection this week and subsequently close more than 100 of its 800 stores, according to The Wall Street Journal.

The struggling teen apparel retailer plans to reorganize under a Chapter 11 filing this week ahead of May rent payments, the report said. On Aeropostale has been struggling for some time. The chain has recorded three consecutive years of losses as its struggles to deal with a teen audience whose spending tastes now favor fast-fashion giants such as H&M as well as online retailers.

Build-A-Bear Workshop on Tuesday said it has hired financial and legal advisers to help it explore strategic alternatives. The news came the day after General Nutrition Corp. (GNC) said it was doing the same.

Publix Super Markets on Monday turned in another winning revenue performance, reporting $8.7 billion in sales for its first quarter, up 4.5% from $8.3 billion in the year ago period. Same-store sales rose 3.3%.

Net earnings were up to $581.9 million, up 6% over the same period last year.

It was the first quarterly report issued under new CEO Todd Jones. Former chief executive Ed Crenshaw retired Friday after 42 years with the company and nearly eight as CEO.

GNC Holdings Inc. announced Monday it is undertaking a strategic review whose options could include a sale of the company.

The health-and-wellness retailer said it is also considering accelerated refranchising strategies, partnerships and other collaborations, and capital structure optimization. The announcement comes on the heels of disappointing first quarter results.

Rising expenses resulted in an increased net loss at Tuesday Morning Corp. during the third quarter of fiscal 2016, despite positive sales results.

Dallas-based Tuesday Morning reported a net loss of $5.24 million, close to double the $2.8 million loss it posted during the third quarter of the previous fiscal year. On the plus side, net sales rose 11% to $211.38 million from $189.73 million. Same-store sales grew 13.4%, largely driven by an increase in customer transactions.

After a difficult third quarter of fiscal 2016, Perfumania Holdings Inc. continued experiencing problems in the year’s fourth quarter.

The specialty chain is considering closing an unspecified number of underperforming stores after reporting net income of $2.26 million, down 59% from $5.5 million a year earlier. Lower gross profit and operating income helped slash profit.

One of the nation’s largest franchisees will soon also be operating GNC stores.

Moving ahead with its plan to reduce its corporate-owned store footprint, GNC announced plans to sell 84 company-owned locations to Dallas-based Sun Holdings for about $17 million. The retailer revealed the sale amid disappointing first quarter results.