Geneva Commons Aeropostale Will Close

Marc Torrence contributed to this article

The Aeropostale at Geneva Commons is among 113 stores closing across the United States as the massive young-adult clothing retailer has filed for bankruptcy.

Closing sales will begin this weekend, according to a company announcement. The stores remain open right now, and online sales will continue as normal, the company said. The store at 502 Commons Way in Geneva is among seven Illinois stores slated to close. The Aeropostale Promenade at Bolingbrook is also planning to close.

Aeropostale operates more than 800 stores nationwide.

You can view the complete list of planned store closures here.

Industry experts pointed to the store's failure to adapt to modern shopping trends as its ultimate demise. As the company dominated retail clothing in the late 90s and early 2000s, it operated largely in shopping malls in suburban America, targeting teens a pre-teens.

As online shopping became a dominant force, Aeropostale continued to focus on shopping malls, where foot traffic has decreased rapidly.

More “The majority of the blame for poor performance lies squarely with [Aeropostale’s] failure to realign itself to the changing fashion demands of younger shoppers,” Neil Saunders, chief executive of retail analytics firm Conlumino, in a research note,according to the Washington Post. “Against this backdrop Aero has a brand and range that is ill-defined, somewhat dull, and rather out of tune with modern tastes.”taste

And Aeropostale is hardly the only retailer — tween clothing or otherwise — struggling to keep up with the rise of online retail shifts.

Walmart will close 154 U.S. stores this year, and Sports Authority will shut down all of its stores completely.

>>> Sports Authority Stores in West Suburbs to Liquidate in Nationwide Closing

Image via Raysonho, Wikimedia Commons