Aéropostale Inc.’s doors remain open as back-to-school shoppers hit the stores, but there is no guarantee the company will survive for long, the Wall Street Journal reported today. A planned auction of the massive store chain has been pushed back to Aug. 29 as a bankruptcy judge weighs what could be a company-ending decision for the international seller of apparel to young adults. Bankruptcy Judge Sean Lane is set to rule later this week on a dispute between Aéropostale and the private-equity firm that was at one time one of its largest backers, Sycamore Partners. Junior creditors and the company are allied in a campaign to save Aéropostale, avoiding the “loss of over 10,000 jobs, empty lease locations and disappointment for vendors,” creditor attorney Robert Feinstein said at a hearing yesterday in New York bankruptcy court. Aéropostale is pressing for a ruling that would rein in Sycamore’s power to determine the company’s fate. Sycamore contends liquidation, not a sale of the operating business at a bargain-basement price, is the best option for creditors.
