American Eagle’s Direct Sales Lead Retail In First Quarter
Blame the slip in American Eagle’s first quarter sales on its retail operations. The company’s direct revenue jumped 26% over first-quarter 2008’s level, while same-store sales fell 10%.
Overall, American Eagle reported $612 million in sales, down from $640.3 million in first-quarter 2008. Its net income fell from $43.9 million, or 6.9% of sales, to $22 million, or 3.6%. The most recent quarter ended May 2.
The company attributed the jump in its direct sales to increased traffic and conversion, but did not offer figures on the number of visitors to its four branded sites.
“Our online strategy is designed to create a superior customer experience across selling channels,” CEO James V O’Donnell said during a teleconference, according to a transcript provided by Seeking Alpha.
O’Donnell continued, “To that end, AEO Direct is fully integrated with our POS [point of sale] system for seamless, real-time inventory sharing. We are leveraging this technology to drive incremental sales through our store-to-door program, which has become a more meaningful contributor to the AEO Direct business.”
