Aeropostale CEO out; replaced by company’s former CEO, Julian Geiger

New York -- Aeropostale announced that Julian R. Geiger has rejoined the company as CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds Thomas P. Johnson, a former Brooks Brother executive who was appointed to the top spot at Aeropostale after Geiger left his CEO post in 2010.



In 2011, Geiger was named president and CEO of Crumbs Bake Shop. He resigned from Crumbs at the end of December 2013, and rejoined the Aeropostale board in May. (Crumbs closed all its stores in July 2014.)



“Julian was the leader of Aeropostale's strategic direction during a period of significant growth, and we are confident in his enthusiasm for the business, his understanding of today's teen retail marketplace and his intuition regarding teen fashion,” said Karin Hirtler-Garvey, chairperson of Aeropostale's board of directors.



Geiger said his decision to return to Aeropostale to be its chief executive officer was “easy to make.”



“"The opportunity for sales and profit growth; the ability to reinforce the company's special culture; and the chance to work closely with, and influence, the management team and the field organization combine to create a compelling and dynamic challenge,” he said.



Aeropostale has been in a period of decline. For the second quarter of fiscal 2014, net sales decreased 13% to $396.2 million, from $454.0 million a year ago. Same-store sales decreased 13%. The company said it expects its second quarter operating loss to be in the range of approximately $61 million to $64 million.