American Eagle has released few details about the new chain, but analysts say the company, whose namesake stores target 15- to 25-year-olds, is going after an older demographic. That could put the yet-to-be named chain in competition with Abercrombie & Fitch's newly-launched Ruehl stores and a concept that Gap Inc. plans to launch, which is expected to target women in their 30s and is also not yet named.
"Pursuing our next concept is key to our long-term growth strategy, and our vision of being a dominant, multi-brand lifestyle retailer," said American Eagle Outfitters' CEO, Jim O'Donnell in a statement. "We have created a unique concept that fits a real void in the current marketplace, and is complimentary to the American Eagle brand."
The new hires at American Eagle are Charles Martin, chief designer of men's, and Michele Donnan Martin, chief designer and general merchandise manager of women's. Both were VPs at Abercrombie from 1992 to 1999.
The new concept will not likely launch until the spring of 2006, says Pam Nagler, a retail analyst with New York City-based securities firm Fulcrum Global Partners. But when it launches, it will launch big, she told GSR. "If they're going through the effort and expenditure, it wouldn't be under 300 to 400 stores," she said.
American Eagle, which posted a major year-over-year same-store sales jump of 32.8% in December, could also differentiate itself from the other retailers, Nagler said. Gap has "fizzled" in its rollouts of new chains, while American Eagle's concept will probably have lower price's than Abercrombie's Ruehl.
American Eagle officials could not be reached for this article. The locally based company operates 849 stores in US and Canada.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
