Aéropostale (clothing)
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| Type | Public NYSE: ARO |
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| Founded | 1987 |
| Headquarters | New York City, United States |
| Number of locations | over 906 (as of April 2009)[1] |
| Area served | United States Canada Dominican Republic Puerto Rico Peru United Arab Emirates |
| Key people | Julian R. Geiger (Chairman & CEO) |
| Industry | Retail |
| Products | Apparel and accessories |
| Revenue | US$1.886 billion (2008) ▲ 19% from 2007[2] |
| Net income | US$149.4 million (2008) ▲ 16% from 2007[2] |
| Employees | 10,756 (as of November 2008)[3] |
| Website | www.aeropostale.com |
Aéropostale, Inc. (us dict: ârʹō-pōs-tălʹ[4]), usually referred to as Aéropostale or Aéro, is an American clothing retailer that sells casual clothing with over 900 stores in the United States, Canada, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, Peru and the United Arab Emirates.[1] Their stores tend to be located in shopping malls and large marketing areas. Aéropostale sells fashion apparel including shirts, jeans, bras and thongs, accessories, jackets, sweaters, and bathing suits. Their clothing is targeted at 14–17 year olds[3] and typically sold at prices under $50. Aéropostale formerly also had a surf clothing brand called Jimmy'Z that was a 14 store chain launched in 2005 and ended operations in early 2009. Building on the success of the Aéropostale teen brand, the company is planning to launch a new kids apparel chain called P.S. from Aéropostale in 2009.
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[edit] History
The first Aéropostale store was opened in 1987 in New York City. [3] The Aéropostale name is French for "air mail" and originated from the 1920s French/Latin-American airmail firm, Compagnie Générale Aéropostale.[3]
The company was created and owned by Federated Department Stores. It was sold off in 1998 to MSS Delaware Inc, a private investment group which later took the company public.
Aéropostale launched its e-commerce webstore in early 2005.[5] Total net sales from the webstore for fiscal 2008 was $79.1 million.[2]
[edit] International expansion
In the summer of 2006, it was announced that Aéropostale would enter the Canadian market. On August 3, 2007, the first Canadian Aéropostale store opened in White Oaks Mall in London, Ontario.
In September 2006, Aeropostle opened its first store in the Dominican Republic, located in Acropolis Plaza in Santo Domingo. In May 2008, Aéropostale opened its first store in Puerto Rico at Plaza Carolina. The weeks following Aéropostale opened two more stores located in Plaza Las Américas and in Prime Outlets-Puerto Rico. The company plans to open 12 to 14 more stores in Puerto Rico by 2010.[6] As of April 2009, Aéropostale also has an operating store located in the Jockey Plaza shopping center in Lima, Peru.[7]
In March 2009, Aéropostale expanded its operations to the Middle East, opening its first store in Dubai.[8] The company plans to open over 20 stores in the region over the next few years, including stores in the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar.[8]
[edit] Subsidiaries
Aéropostale had a surf clothing brand called Jimmy'Z, which launched in 2005.[5] In early 2009, Aéropostale closed its 14-store Jimmy'Z chain. The Jimmy'Z stores were based originally on a surf lifestyle and later evolved into Hollywood and celebrity-inspired lines. The Jimmy'Z stores, located in New York City, Pennsylvania, Missouri, Illinois, and Texas were designed to look like nightclubs with music, video, and lounge areas to enhance the ambiance of the stores.To leverage the strength of the Aéropostale teen and adult brand, the company plans to focus its energies on its namesake chain and a new chain called 'P.S. from Aéropostale' geared at young children.[9] P.S. from Aéropostale will offer apparel at value prices to the 7–12 age market. The company plans to open the first P.S. stores in June 2009 and approximately nine more P.S. stores in fiscal 2009.[2]
[edit] Corporate affairs
[edit] Competition
Aéropostale's mainly competes with other young fashion companies, including: American Eagle Outfitters, Hollister Co., Gilly Hicks, Abercrombie Kids and Abercrombie & Fitch,[10] all of which generate more in net sales than Aéropostale. In 2007, Aéropostale generated $1.59 billion in net sales, while its larger competitors, American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch, reported sales of $3.7 billion and $3 billion, respectively.
[edit] Promotions
In 2007, the company began doing promotions with successful figures to increase brand awareness. The first promotion was selling the Fall Out Boy album, Infinity on High, with a store-exclusive T-shirt. Other offers include a free beach towel with every fifty dollar purchase, and a free holiday bear with a purchase of over one hundred dollars, each promotion in its respective season. These holiday bears are also donated by Aéropostale stores to local charities in their respective communities. In 2008, Aéropostale along with not-for-profit youth organization Do Something launched Teens for Jeans, a campaign to raise awareness of teen homelessness. Stores would collect lightly used jeans and donate them to local charities. In return, donators received a 20% (2008) or 25% (2009) discount on a new pair of Aéropostale jeans. In 2008, the campaign raised over 125,000 pairs of jeans. In 2008 and 2009, Aéropostale donated 10,000 pairs of new jeans to the campaign.[11][12] Also they promoted the show Greek Season 1 DVD with a free T-shirt with a $50 purchase.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Aéropostale (2009-04-09). Aeropostale Reports Record March Sales Results. Press release. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1274905. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
- ^ a b c d Aéropostale (2009-03-12). Aeropostale Reports Record Results for Fourth Quarter and Fiscal 2008. Press release. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1265738. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
- ^ a b c d "Aéropostale Investor Relations - For Students!". Aéropostale. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-faq. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ Teresa F. Lindeman (2001-08-02). "Aeropostale helps Pitt's coaches, athletes sport hipper styles". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=SokNAAAAIBAJ&sjid=fHADAAAAIBAJ&dq=aeropostale%20pronounced&pg=4962%2C679562. Retrieved on 2009-03-30.
- ^ a b Aéropostale (2005-03-10). Aeropostale Reports Record Fourth Quarter Results. Press release. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=684130. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
- ^ Aéropostale (2008-05-05). Aeropostale Opens in Puerto Rico. Press release. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1139467. Retrieved on 2008-05-21.
- ^ "Aeropostale in Peru". Jockey Plaza s.c.. http://www.jockey-plaza.com.pe/web/el/tiendas_detalle.aspx?IDLocal=188. Retrieved on 2009-04-12.
- ^ a b Aéropostale (2009-03-31). Aeropostale Expands Internationally. Press release. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1271376. Retrieved on 2009-04-13.
- ^ Aéropostale (2009-02-23). Aeropostale Announces Plans to Close Its Jimmy'Z Concept. Press release. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1259090. Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
- ^ Johnston, Chris (2009-02-14). "Abercrombie & Fitch refuses to reduce prices". The Times. http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/retailing/article5728632.ece. Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
- ^ Aéropostale (2008-01-16). Aeropostale Partners with Do Something to Launch Teens for Jeans. Press release. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1097141. Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
- ^ Aéropostale (2009-01-26). Over 200,000 Teens Expected to Donate Jeans for Homeless Teens. Press release. http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1249460. Retrieved on 2009-03-11.
