American Eagle Outfitters 2008 Annual Report Download - page 10

In the United States and around the world, we have also registered, or have applied to register, a number of
other marks used in our business, including aerie», MARTIN+OSA»and 77kids by american eagle
TM
.
These trademarks are renewable indefinitely, as long as they are still in use and their registrations are properly
maintained. We believe that the recognition associated with these trademarks makes them extremely valuable and,
therefore, we intend to use and renew our trademarks in accordance with our business plans.
Employees
As of January 31, 2009, we had approximately 37,500 employees in the United States and Canada, of whom
approximately 31,000 were part-time and seasonal hourly employees. We consider our relationship with our
employees to be good.
Seasonality
Historically, our operations have been seasonal, with a large portion of net sales and operating income
occurring in the third and fourth fiscal quarter, reflecting increased demand during the back-to-school and year-end
holiday selling seasons, respectively. As a result of this seasonality, any factors negatively affecting us during the
third and fourth fiscal quarters of any year, including adverse weather or unfavorable economic conditions, could
have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations for the entire year. Our quarterly
results of operations also may fluctuate based upon such factors as the timing of certain holiday seasons, the number
and timing of new store openings, the acceptability of seasonal merchandise offerings, the timing and level of
markdowns, store closings and remodels, competitive factors, weather and general economic conditions.
Available Information
Our Annual Reports on Form 10-K, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q, Current Reports on Form 8-K and
amendments to those reports are available, free of charge, under the “About AE” section of our website at
www.ae.com. These reports are available as soon as reasonably practicable after such material is electronically filed
with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).
Our corporate governance materials, including our corporate governance guidelines, the charters of our audit,
compensation, and nominating and corporate governance committees, and our code of ethics may also be found
under the “About AEO, Inc.” section of our website at www.ae.com. Any amendments or waivers to our code of
ethics will also be available on our website. A copy of the corporate governance materials is also available upon
written request.
Additionally, our investor presentations are available under the “About AEO, Inc.” section of our website at
www.ae.com. These presentations are available as soon as reasonably practicable after they are presented at investor
conferences.
Certifications
As required by New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) Corporate Governance Standards Section 303A.12(a),
on July 9, 2008 our Chief Executive Officer submitted to the NYSE a certification that he was not aware of any
violation by the Company of NYSE corporate governance listing standards. Additionally, we filed with this
Form 10-K, the Principal Executive Officer and Principal Financial Officer certifications required under
Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
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