American Eagle Outfitters
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. is an American clothing and accessories retailer headquartered at SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by brothers Jerry and Mark Silverman as a subsidiary of Retail Ventures, Inc., a company that also owned and operated Silverman's Menswear. The Silvermans sold their ownership interests in 1991 to Jacob Price of Knoxville, Tennessee.[3] American Eagle Outfitters is the parent company of Aerie, Unsubscribed and Todd Snyder.[4]
This article is about the clothing retailer. For other uses, see American Eagle.American Eagle
1977
Jerry Silverman
Mark Silverman
1,307 stores (Jan. 2021)[1]
Worldwide
Jay Schottenstein (Exec. Chairman and CEO)[2]
US$3.759 billion (2020)[1]
US$-271.35 million (2020)[1]
US$-209.27 million (2020)[1]
US$3.435 billion (2020)[1]
US$1.087 billion (2020)[1]
37,000 (Jan. 2021)[1]
American Eagle retails jeans, polo shirts, graphic T-shirts, boxers, outerwear, and swimwear. American Eagle targets male and female university and high school students, although older adults also wear the brand.
In 1977, the first American Eagle Outfitters store opened in Twelve Oaks Mall in Novi, Michigan.[5] As of January 2023, the company operated 1,175 American Eagle stores, 175 Aerie stores, and 12 Todd Snyder stores across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Hong Kong.[2]
International expansion[edit]
American Eagle opened its first Canadian store in 2001 after it purchased assets of Dylex. In 2010, AEO opened stores in Kuwait, Riyadh, and Dubai. A store in Kaslik, Lebanon, opened on October 15, 2011. A store in Cairo, Egypt, opened in late 2011. In September 2011, two stores opened in Moscow, Russia. Its first store in Jordan opened in November 2011 in the brand-new Taj Mall. Its first store in Tokyo, Japan opened on April 18, 2012. The first store in Tel Aviv, Israel, opened in February 2012,[34] after the Israeli-based clothing retailer FOX signed a contract with AEO, and expanded to Jerusalem.[35] There are also stores in Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong.[36] American Eagle Outfitters opened its first store in the Philippines in March 2013.[37]
American Eagle is also opening stores in Mexico. The first opened in Mexico City at Fashion Mall Perisur on February 20, 2013, and at Centro Santa Fe in June. Another opened in Guadalajara later in 2013 at Fashion Mall Galerías Guadalajara.[38] In 2014 the company financed the rescue and renovation of the Jardín Edith Sánchez Ramírez pocket park in Mexico City.
American Eagle expanded to the U.K. in November 2014, opening stores in Westfield London, Westfield Stratford City, and Bluewater.[39] The Westfield London store opened on November 14, 2014, the Westfield Stratford City store on November 17, 2014, and the Bluewater store on November 19, 2014. All UK operations have ceased, with the UK website closed and all UK stores closed by the end of July 2017.[40][41]
American Eagle Outfitters opened its first store in Muscat, Oman, on October 3, 2015.[42] The company made its debut in the Indian market in June 2018 with first store launched in DLF Mall of India, Noida.[43] Today it operates 17 stores across the country.
AEO entered the Chilean market in September 2015, with the opening of its first store in the Parque Arauco shopping center. After its arrival in the Chilean market, the company's expansion was concentrated in Santiago.
In 2019, American Eagle Outfitters became one of only two major clothing companies with commitments in line with the Paris Agreement's goal of limiting global average temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.[44]
In 2020, American Eagle Outfitters opened its first store in Prague, Czech Republic, in the factory outlet center Fashion Arena Prague Outlet.[45] In 2023, AEO opened its first store in Uruguay, Punta Carretas Shopping.[46]
New American Music Union[edit]
American Eagle was the primary sponsor of New American Music Union, a music festival at SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh on August 8 and 9, 2008.[47] The concert featured Gnarls Barkley, Spoon, The Raconteurs, and Bob Dylan and his band.[47] The festival, which had been planned as an annual event, did not recur, because American Eagle had moved away from using music as a marketing tool.[48]
Controversies[edit]
Strike[edit]
In 2004, the textile and apparel workers union UNITE HERE launched the "American Vulture" back-to-school boycott of American Eagle[49] in protest of alleged workers' rights violations at the company's Canadian distribution contractor National Logistics Services (NLS). On the 2007 second-quarter conference call,[50] CEO James O'Donnell clarified the American Eagle's relationship with NLS and its effect on business. He explained,
