Aerie Sales Up 4%

Aerie sales rose 4% in the fiscal year ended February 1, to $1.738 billion, up from $1.670 billion, reaching a record high for the brand. However fourth quarter 2024 sales were up only slightly, to $539.7 million, compared to $537.5 million in the same period last year. 

Jay Schottenstein, CEO of parent company American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) warned that for the company as a whole, which offers a variety of apparel, “entering 2025, the first quarter is off to a slower start than expected, reflecting less robust demand and colder weather. While we anticipate improvement as the Spring season gets underway, we are also taking proactive steps to strengthen the top-line, manage inventory and reduce expenses.”

Jennifer Foyle, AEO president, executive creative director, noted on the call with analysts that in 2024, at Aerie “we grew our customer count to 11.8 million. This is an all-time high as we expanded our reach and brand awareness with stores and marketing initiatives. Two clear wins in the year were our soft apparel and activewear businesses, both of which saw double-digit growth.”

“In soft apparel, we continued to win in cozy fleece, sweaters and new fashion items. Additionally, our extension into sleepwear was a huge success. In activewear, Offline by Aerie saw strength in leggings, sports bras, fleece and shorts. Our powerful platform, combined with our winning price, quality and value equation, continues to differentiate us in the market,” elevating the brand to “number two in the leggings category. Intimates and swim were down last year, driven by ongoing challenges across the industry. Yet I’m happy to note that we grew our share in intimates across core bras and undies, fueled by innovation, with our Smoothez collection and new novelty fabrications like lace. The long-term runway for Aerie is significant. Offline is our biggest growth opportunity across the company,” she revealed.

CFO Mike Mathias also emphasized the importance of Offline to the company’s future, noting that customer awareness of its brands are still “very low. We’ve talked about Aerie in total of being only around 55%, Offline from an awareness perspective is next to nothing.” Of Aerie’s total sales, Offline represents “around $600 million. So very small still.” But he added that “it’s the fastest-growing thing in the company as we speak,” with “a lot of runway ahead of us. The TAM, total addressable market, is around, I think, $30 billion, $40 billion.”

Offline represents “a lot of opportunity for us in terms of product expansion, geographic expansion, building awareness,” Mathias concluded. “We’re not going to stop or slow down the investments there. The best use of our cash right now is the return we think we can get from the continued investment across the brands, nothing bigger than Offline at the moment.”

As of February 1, 2025 AEO was operating a total of 318 Aerie and Offline locations. In fiscal 2024 it opened 22 and closed 13 locations of those two brands, and in 2025 will be opening “around 35” more. — NM

Above, two Aerie bestsellers cited by Foyle. Left, from the lace collection, Show Off Beachside Lace Scoop Bralette, $26.21. Right, Offline By Aerie OG High Waisted Legging, $17.46.