American Eagle Outfitters 2008 Annual Report Download - page 4

PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS.
General
American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., a Delaware corporation, is a leading retailer that operates under the American
Eagle Outfitters», aerie»by American Eagle, 77kids
TM
by american eagle and MARTIN + OSA»brands.
American Eagle Outfitters designs, markets and sells its own brand of high quality, on-trend clothing,
accessories and personal care products at affordable prices while targeting 15 to 25 year-old customers. We opened
our first American Eagle Outfitters store in the United States in 1977 and expanded the brand into Canada in 2001.
American Eagle Outfitters also operates ae.com», which offers additional sizes, colors and styles of favorite AE»
merchandise and ships to 62 countries around the world. The American Eagle Outfitters original collection includes
standards like jeans and graphic Ts, as well as essentials like accessories, outerwear, footwear, basics and swimwear
under our American Eagle Outfitters, American Eagle»and AE brand names.
During Fiscal 2006, American Eagle Outfitters launched its new intimates brand, aerie by American Eagle
(“aerie”). The aerie collection is available in aerie stores, predominantly all American Eagle stores and at aerie.com.
The collection offers Dormwear»and intimates collections for the AE»girl. Designed to be subtly sexy,
comfortable and cozy, the aerie brand offers AE customers a new way to express their personal style everyday,
from the dormroom to the coffee shop to the classroom.
We also introduced MARTIN + OSA»(“M+O”) during Fiscal 2006, a concept targeting 28 to 40 year-old
women and men, which offers Refined Casual
TM
clothing and accessories, designed to be valuable, irresistible,
inspiring, authentic and adventurous. In Fiscal 2008, MARTIN + OSA began offering merchandise online at
martinandosa.com.
In October 2008, we launched a new children’s apparel brand, 77kids
TM
by american eagle (“77kids”). The
77kids brand offers “kid cool,” durable clothing and accessories for kids ages two to 10. The brand debuted
worldwide online at 77kids.com during Fiscal 2008, with future plans for stores in the U.S.
As used in this report, all references to “we,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to American Eagle Outfitters,
Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries. “American Eagle Outfitters,” “American Eagle,” “AE,” and the “AE Brand”
refer to our U.S. and Canadian American Eagle Outfitters stores. “AEO Direct” refers to our e-commerce
operations, ae.com, aerie.com, martinandosa.com and 77kids.com. “NLS” refers to National Logistics Services
which we operated in Canada prior to its disposition during Fiscal 2006. “Bluenotes” refers to the Bluenotes/
Thriftys specialty apparel chain which we operated in Canada prior to its disposition during Fiscal 2004.
As of January 31, 2009, we operated 954 American Eagle Outfitters stores in the United States and Canada,
116 aerie stand-alone stores and 28 MARTIN + OSA stores.
Our financial year is a 52/53 week year that ends on the Saturday nearest to January 31. As used herein, “Fiscal
2010” and “Fiscal 2009” refer to the 52 week periods ending January 29, 2011 and January 30, 2010, respectively.
“Fiscal 2008” and “Fiscal 2007” refer to the 52 week periods ended January 31, 2009 and February 2, 2008,
respectively. “Fiscal 2006” refers to the 53 week period ended February 3, 2007. “Fiscal 2005” and “Fiscal 2004”
refer to the 52 week periods ended January 28, 2006 and January 29, 2005, respectively.
Information concerning our segments and certain geographic information is contained in Note 2 of the
Consolidated Financial Statements included in this Form 10-K and is incorporated herein by reference.
Growth Strategy
During Fiscal 2008, we continued to make significant progress on our key growth initiatives. As we enter
Fiscal 2009, we are taking a more cautious stance on real estate growth in light of a slow-down in the economy.
However, we remain focused on several well-defined strategies that we have in place to grow our business and
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