Business Insider/Jessica Tyler Abercrombie felt like it hadn't changed much when we visited.
- American Eagle Outfitters and Abercrombie & Fitch are making a comeback.
- Last week, American Eagle reported that comparable sales were up 5% for its namesake brand in the most recent quarter, while Abercrombie & Fitch reported comparable sales were up 1% overall at its flagship brand. Same-store sales were up 3% overall for Abercrombie.
- When we compared visits to the two stores, we found there was a clear winner between them. Here's the verdict.
American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch are having a resurgence.
The preppy teen retailers are both thriving right now. Last week, American Eagle reported that comparable sales were up 5% for its namesake brand in the most recent quarter, while Abercrombie & Fitch reported comparable sales were up 1% overall at its flagship brand. Same-store sales were up 3% overall.
American Eagle can thank its sister store Aerie for its recent success. In the third quarter, comparable sales were up a whopping 32% at Aerie, the lingerie and lifestyle brand that has been winning over customers with its campaigns focused on body positivity and female empowerment.
When we visited an American Eagle store in New York, we found that it was bright and upbeat. Both American Eagle and the attached Aerie boutique seemed to be focused on comfort above anything else, with almost everything in-store being advertised as "cozy" and "plush." In October, a Piper Jaffray survey of 8,600 teens across the US showed that American Eagle is teens' second favorite brand, only behind Nike.
Abercrombie & Fitch has been slowly coming back as well. The brand has reported same-store sales growth for the last five quarters. While Abercrombie's sister brand Hollister - ranked sixth on the Piper Jaffray survey - has been the brand's secret weapon in its comeback, Abercrombie been working on making some changes of its own.
At the company's investors day in April, CEO Fran Horowitz said, "We are not the Abercrombie & Fitch that you once knew." Abercrombie has been trying to brighten its stores, ditch its classic logo designs, and say goodbye to its racy ads. But when we visited the store, that isn't exactly what we found.
We compared shopping at American Eagle and Abercrombie - here's the verdict:
