Aeropostale to close as many as 75 more stores

Aeropostale Inc. says it is considering closing as many as 75 additional stores despite reporting a smaller profit loss in the fourth quarter.

The company’s net loss narrowed to $13.5 million in the fourth quarter ended Jan. 31, down from $70.3 million a year earlier. Net sales fell 11.3% to $593.8 million. Comparable sales declined 9%. Aeropostale closed more than 180 stores over the three months that ended Jan. 31. It currently has about 850 stores in North America and another 239 licensed Aeropostale stores worldwide.

For the full year, Aeropostale reported a loss of $1.42 on revenues of $1.84 billion, compared with a loss of $1.13 per share and revenues of $2.09 billion in the prior year. The company reiterates its expectation to invest approximately $16 million in fiscal 2015 primarily related to certain infrastructure investments and store remodels.

"Our first quarter outlook for 2015 reflects challenging trends as we continue to see softness in consumer demand as a result of weak traffic," said Julian R. Geiger, CEO. "Our organization has taken significant action over the past six months to reshape our business strategies, which should position us for improvement, particularly in the second half of 2015."

Aeropostale and other teen retailers have struggled with changing fashion tastes among teens, a decline in shoppers in malls, and competition from fast-fashion retailers like Forever 21 and H&M.