Aeropostale filed for chapter 11 protection last week, joining teen retailing chains including Pacific Sunwear, Quiksilver, and Wet Seal, among others, that have sought to restructure in bankruptcy in the past several years as their main demographic shuns the mall, MarketWatch.com reported on Friday. Changing teen fashion trends, the shift in interest to digital, including e-commerce, and the focus on experiences over “stuff” are all spelling trouble for traditional mall brands, and the malls they inhabit. “It’s a perfect bankruptcy storm,” said Charles Tatelbaum, chair of the creditors’ rights and bankruptcy practice and partner at the law firm Tripp Scott. “Retail habits have changed. People no longer want to go to the mall to shop, especially teenagers.” The low-interest rate environment of the last several years had encouraged teen retailers to expand and grow, adding to what Tatelbaum calls a “field of dreams theory”: If you build it, they will come. Besides the shift away from mall shopping, there’s the normal, fickle nature of fashion that teen retailers have to contend with. “It used to be you wanted to fit into a mold and everyone looks the same,” said Sidney Morgan-Petro, retail editor at trend forecasting and analytics firm WGSN, discussing teen shoppers. “But now that consumer is thinking about how they can stand out.” Read more.
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