American Eagle Says Aeropostale Liquidations Hurt Same-store Sales

American Eagle Outfitters Inc. said Wednesday that stores located near Aeropostale locations that are liquidating experienced a two- to four-percentage-point same-store sales decline. Aeropostale, which sought chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May, plans to go from about 800 stores to 229. The liquidation is also having an impact on American Eagle's traffic, said Robert Madore, American Eagle's chief financial officer, on the company's Wednesday earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. "That has dissipated quite a bit as we look to Q4,... but it definitely did have impact to us in Q3," he said. Sporting goods retailers, like teen retailers, have seen a spate of bankruptcy filings recently. Dick's Sporting Goods Inc. has benefitted from the misfortunes of competitors including The Sports Authority and Golfsmith. American Eagle shares are down 12.7% in Wednesday trading after third-quarter same-store sales results missed estimates. The company's shares are up 6.5% for the year so far while the S&% 500 index is up 7.7% for the same period.