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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowTrading in shares of Aeropostale, the retailer with five stores in the Indianapolis area, was suspended Friday as the New York Stock Exchange made plans to delist the company.
Aeropostale stock once traded above $30 per share, but hasn't breached $1 since September. Shares fell 27.7 percent Thursday afternoon, to a record low of 15 cents.
The company is preparing to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as this month, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The 43-year-old retailer, whose clothes were once ubiquitous in teen closets, said Friday that it has no plans to appeal the delisting and will start trading Friday on the OTCQX Best Market under the symbol "AROP."
The New York company early this year said that it would cut expenses by $35 million to $40 million annually and trim its corporate staff by 13 percent, about 100 jobs.
"Fast fashion" outfits like H&M and Forever 21, with more inexpensive clothes, have emerged in recent years to take a growing market share from Aeropostale, Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle Outfitters, stores that were once the energy epicenter of malls across the U.S. Several once-hot teen retailers have slumped in recent years.
Once worth almost $2.6 billion, Aeropostale's market capitalization by this week had fallen to around $14.4 million.
Aeropostale has local stores at Castleton Square, Circle Centre, Hamilton Town Center, Perry Crossing and Greenwood Park Mall.
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