We shopped at American Eagle's Aerie store and saw why it's achieved explosive success while Victoria's Secret has struggled (AEO)

Business Insider/Jessica Tyler

• American Eagle's Aerie brand has achieved explosive success in recent years.
• On Tuesday, American Eagle reported a 32% increase in same-store sales at Aerie during the third quarter of 2018. This marked its 16th consecutive quarter of double-digit positive growth.
• Here's why the brand has been so successful. 

Aerie is on fire. 

On Tuesday, American Eagle reported a 32% increase in same-store sales for its underwear-turned-lifestyle brand, Aerie. This marked its 16th consecutive quarter of double-digit positive growth. Group CEO Jay Schottenstein described this as one of the company's best results ever in a call with investors after the earnings release.

The company now plans to open between 60 and 70 new Aerie locations next year. 

Meanwhile, its main competitor, Victoria's Secret, continues to come under pressure. Critics have said that the retailer's push-up bras and racy runway shows no longer resonate with the modern customer in the era of #MeToo. The brand came under fire last month after an executive from its parent company, L Brands, made controversial comments about transgender and plus-size models during an interview with Vogue.

Same-store sales were down 6% at Victoria's Secret stores in the most recent quarter. They were down 2% when including online sales.

Read more: These photos reveal why women are abandoning Victoria's Secret for American Eagle's Aerie underwear brand

We visited an Aerie store in Midtown Manhattan and saw why it has been so successful while Victoria's Secret has floundered:

Aerie has been praised for being a more relatable brand. In 2014, it swapped its airbrushed ads for unretouched photos and launched a body-positive campaign known as #AerieReal.

Business Insider/Jessica Tyler

It is known for its ad campaigns using "real" women ...

Business Insider/Jessica Tyler

... and it famously doesn't Photoshop any of the images in its ads.

Facebook/Aerie


See the rest of the story at Business Insider

See Also:

• These up-and-coming underwear labels are threatening to upend Victoria's Secret
• Here's how TJ Maxx keeps its prices so low
• We visited a lot of department stores in 2018. Here's which one was the best to shop at.

SEE ALSO: These up-and-coming underwear labels are threatening to upend Victoria's Secret

DON'T MISS: We shopped at American Eagle and saw why it's so popular with teens right now

from Business Insider https://ift.tt/2SGmoy5