American Eagle Outfitters

Finances and operations

On March 15, 2005, the company adjusted its accounting of rent expenses and construction allowances after the Securities and Exchange Commission noted that a number of companies had been improperly logging these items. Due to "disappointing product execution in the women's category", American Eagle posted only a 3% gain in its 2013 second-quarter profits and the stock price dropped.

Products

On 27 July 2020, American Eagle Outfitters revealed it would sell a new range of fitness wear called "Offline" by Aerie, targeted at consumers who want apparel that can be used for both their workouts and relaxation.

Stores

Items are placed on wooden shelving, tables, or clothes racks. The clothes in AEO Factory stores are hung on basic black hangers, and AEO stores have wooden hangers. There is usually a flat-screen television hanging in the back of the store or behind the cash wrap. The floors are typically wood or concrete. The theme and displays change based on seasonal lines and promotions.

Subsidiaries

aerie

In February 2006, American Eagle launched the aerie lingerie sub-brand, targeting American 15- to 22-year-old females. In addition to lingerie such as bras and other undergarments, the aerie line sells dorm wear, active apparel, loungewear, accessories and sleepwear. What started as a sub-brand quickly became a standalone concept in its own right, featuring a complete fitness line, called aerie f.i.t. The aerie brand is sold in American Eagle Outfitters stores, on the American Eagle website, and in stand-alone aerie retail stores. The first stand-alone aerie store opened in August 2006 in Greenville, South Carolina, and was followed by two more test stores later that year. As of December 2010, there were 147 stand-alone aerie stores in the U.S. and Canada. Aerie has started a campaign that focuses on promoting models' real bodies. This entails their slogan #AerieREAL and adding to their advertisements that models have not been retouched. In this way they take a stand against the use of photo manipulation in media. Iskra Lawrence, while she models for the lingerie line, is also the global role model for the brand.

Controversies

Strike

In 2004, the textile and apparel workers union UNITE HERE launched the "American Vulture" back-to-school boycott of American Eagle 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, CEO James O'Donnell clarified the American Eagle's relationship with NLS and its effect on business. He explained, We owned NLS with the acquisition of Braemar back in 2000, and we subsequently sold off NLS in 2006, and we are currently a customer of NLS... We have no involvement at all with Unite Here and NLS. Our only involvement with NLS is basically as a customer, and there have been some allegations made, I think, to some of, to the public about it affecting our business. I can tell you right now it has not affected our business.

Abercrombie & Fitch lawsuits

Since 1999, Abercrombie & Fitch has sued American Eagle Outfitters at least three times for allegedly copying its designs and its advertisements. On all occasions, American Eagle prevailed in court on the grounds that A&F cannot stop it from presenting similar designs since such designs cannot be copyrighted in the United States. Nevertheless, American Eagle clothing designs have since trended away in appearance from Abercrombie & Fitch designs. Judges have generally ruled that giving Abercrombie exclusive rights to market its clothing in a certain way "would be anti-competitive."

Sydney Sweeney ad campaign

On July 23, 2025, American Eagle launched a campaign featuring actress Sydney Sweeney in which she was marketed as having "great jeans", a pun on "great genes". Some outlets compared the advertisement to a 1980 Calvin Klein campaign that featured Brooke Shields. The campaign was designed to improve sales with Generation Z customers amid uncertainty over increased costs due to tariffs, and was reportedly American Eagle's most expensive campaign to date. The company's stock price rose 10% after it was announced.

In the first few days, the majority of social media sentiment towards the campaign was positive and apolitical. However, by the end of July, some social media users had started accusing the campaign of promoting eugenics and white supremacy. The New York Times later reported that negative reactions initially came from a small number of accounts with relatively few followers. They claimed that "the right" then exaggerated that limited backlash, which in turn increased left-leaning criticism. Some online posts compared the campaign to Nazi propaganda, while defenders of the campaign called the backlash an example of wokeness and cancel culture. The media widely reported on the controversy and interviewed commentators and academics, several of whom endorsed the criticism. MSNBC supported the backlash, while Megyn Kelly of Fox News called it a "leftist meltdown". The Atlantic and the Los Angeles Times found the reactions from both sides exaggerated. The Trump administration commented on the affair, with JD Vance stating: "My political advice to the Democrats is, continue to tell everybody who thinks Sydney Sweeney is attractive is a Nazi" and Donald Trump praising "the HOTTEST ad out there." A few hours after Trump's comment, American Eagle's stock price rose about 23%.

On August 1, American Eagle responded by stating that the ad campaign "is and always was about the jeans." Following the campaign, on August 19, competitor Gap launched a denim campaign titled "Better in Denim", featuring the girl group Katseye, whose members notably come from various ethnic backgrounds and nationalities, performing choreography with various background dancers to Kelis's "Milkshake". Media coverage highlighted the timing and themes of Gap's campaign as a response to American Eagle's advertisement, noting its focus on inclusivity. Within two weeks, the campaign reportedly generated over 8 billion media impressions and 400 million views, and was described as a high-visibility marketing effort that positioned Gap in comparison to American Eagle's campaign.

In September, American Eagle assessed the campaign as "a winner": CMO Craig Brommers said that it had "generated unprecedented new customer acquisition" and CEO Jay Schottenstein credited that campaign, together with another that featured Travis Kelce, for an "uptick in customer awareness, engagement and comparable sales". In November 2025, The Hollywood Reporter said that the "uproar" about the ad campaign had been "one of the year's silliest controversies".