American Eagle Outfitters 2014 Annual Report Download - page 6

Table of Contents
Canada — 101 stores
International — 35 stores
International Operations
As of January 31, 2015, we had 101 company-operated stores in Canada, 18 in Mexico, nine in China, six in Puerto Rico, five in Hong
Kong and three in the United Kingdom. We continue to evaluate further opportunities to expand internationally, which may include additional
company-operated stores as well as stores operated by third party operators under license, franchise and/or joint venture agreements.
We have agreements with multiple third party operators to expand our brands internationally. Through these agreements, a series of
franchised, licensed or other brand-dedicated American Eagle Outfitters stores have opened and expect to continue to open in areas including
Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America, Northern Africa and parts of Asia. These agreements do not involve a significant
capital investment or operational involvement from the Company. We plan to continue to increase the number of countries in which we enter
into these types of arrangements as part of our strategy for profitable international expansion. As of January 31, 2015, we had 99 stores
operated by our third party operators in 16 countries. International third party operated stores are not included in the consolidated store data or
the total gross square feet calculation.
Purchasing
We design our merchandise and source its manufacture from third-party factories. During Fiscal 2014, we purchased substantially all of
our merchandise from non-North American suppliers.
All of our merchandise suppliers must agree to the terms and conditions of our Master Purchase Agreement (MPA) and to conduct
business with us in accordance with the policies and procedures set forth in our Corporate Vendor Manual (the “Manual”). The Manual
includes, but is not limited to, policies and procedures covering the following topics: social responsibility; quality assurance; product safety and
testing; product labeling and other regulatory requirements; supply chain security; our intellectual property; and our shipping process.
We maintain a quality control department at our distribution centers to inspect incoming merchandise shipments for uniformity of sizes
and colors and for overall quality of manufacturing. Periodic inspections are also made by our employees and agents at manufacturing facilities
to identify quality issues prior to shipment of merchandise.
Corporate Responsibility
We are firmly committed to the principle that the people who make our clothes should be treated with dignity and respect. We seek to
work with apparel suppliers throughout the world who share our commitment to providing safe and healthy workplaces. At a minimum, we
require our suppliers to maintain a workplace environment that complies with local legal requirements and meets universally-accepted human
rights standards.
Our Vendor Code of Conduct (the “Code”), which is based on universally-accepted human rights principles, sets forth our expectations
for suppliers. The Code must be posted in every factory that manufactures our clothes in the local language of the workers. All suppliers must
agree to abide by the terms of our Code before we will place production with them.
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Alberta
11
New Brunswick
3
Ontario
55
British Columbia
12
Newfoundland
1
Quebec
12
Manitoba
2
Nova Scotia
3
Saskatchewan
2
China
9
Hong Kong
5
Mexico
18
United Kingdom
3