Aeropostale’s Discounts Drive Demand

September 1, 2009 07:14 AM | Comments (0) | Posted in weekly retail report, aeropostale, retail trends, retail news

What: Aeropostale is having the last laugh. The preppy teen retailer that’s generally seen as the younger sibling to more ubiquitous chains like Abercrombie & Fitch and American Eagle has announced that its recession pricing strategy of discounting merchandise to extreme levels—like $10 t-shirts and $12 hoodies—actually paid off. The retailer has managed to show sales gains over the past eight months, even while higher-priced stores like American Eagle and Abercrombie both faced declines.

What They Say:
“You can get a more fashionable polo for $15 from Aeropostale than you can get from either American Eagle or Abercrombie, and they’ll be much more expensive,” says [stock analyst Eric] Beder. “The teen customer is a very trend driven customer.”

What We Say: Good for them. It’s nice to see the underdog retailer come in for the win, and we’re holding out hope that Aeropostale’s success might encourage Abercrombie and American Eagle to discount their prices to similar levels as well. ( and, int he case of Abercrombie, put some clothes on their staff)