Article Summary Due to Falling Sales and Lower Profit Margins, Clothing Retailer

Essay

Article Summary
Due to falling sales and lower profit margins, clothing retailer Aeropostale announced it would be closing more stores than originally planned. In August, the company announced it would be closing between 30 and 40 locations in 2013, up from the previously announced 15 to 20. Compared to the previous year, net sales fell 6 percent and the company reported a loss of $33.7 million for the second quarter of 2013, and the trend was expected to continue into the third quarter. Explaining the downturn, Aeropostale chief executive Thomas P. Johnson stated "Our business was pressured by a challenging teen retail environment with weak traffic trends and high levels of promotional activity."
Source: Andrew Klips, "Aeropostale Losses Accelerate, Closing More Stores," equities.com, August 23, 2013.
-Refer to the Article Summary. Use a graph to illustrate average total cost curves for Aeropostale before and after closing the 30 to 40 stores. Assume that after closing the stores, Aeropostale will be producing at minimum average total cost.