(By Balaseshan) Teen casual apparel retailer Aeropostale Inc. (NYSE:ARO) said it intends to roll-out stores throughout Quebec, Canada in the midst of increasing Internet shopping sales and in a step to be ahead of its competitors.
The expansion will be supported through an integrated marketing effort including in-mall advertising, grand opening events and local community outreach.
The expansion will launch with the first store opening on June 15th at Place du Royaume in Ville de Saguenay in the Chicoutimi borough, and will continue with six more through 2012.
Additional locations include, Place Laurier in Québec City, Fairview Pointe Claire in Point-Claire, Promenades St. Bruno in St. Bruno De Montarville, Galleria D'Anjou in Anjou, Mail Champlain in Brossard and Les Galeries de la Capitale in Québec City.
According to comScore (NASDAQ:SCOR), online retail spending for the first quarter reached $44.3 billion, up 17 percent from last year. While the economic recovery continues to be painfully slow, the channel shift to e-commerce appears to be accelerating.
According to StockCall, for the past couple of years many retailers have been focusing their attention and hopes for growth on international and online businesses. However, it seems industry players are now looking to improve their shopping experience in a bid to attract returning consumers.
With the growth of online shopping some are even looking to re-invent the brick and mortar experience to offer hangout spaces and other features which are unavailable in an online space. Analysts at StockCall are cautious that while the retail segment is growing slightly they see competition also getting fiercer clubbed with inclining commodity prices.
ARO is trading up 2.41% at $16.59 on Thursday. The stock has been trading between $9.16 and $23.05 for the past 52 weeks.