Susan McGalla Promoted to Oversee American Eagle Inc.'s Portfolio of Brands; Laura Dubin Wander Named President of MARTIN + OSA
WARRENDALE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 29, 2007--American Eagle
Outfitters, Inc. (NYSE:AEO) today announced key promotions and an
expansion of its leadership team. On the heels of record annual
earnings and profits, the new structure is designed to fuel ongoing
growth and maintain the company's ability to deliver outstanding
results through on-trend assortments, a high quality to price value
ratio, and operational discipline.
Susan McGalla is promoted to president and chief merchandising
officer of American Eagle Outfitters, Inc. In this new role, Ms.
McGalla will add MARTIN + OSA, the company's new sportswear concept
targeting 25- to 40-year-old women and men, to her accountabilities.
While Ms. McGalla's responsibilities have expanded, the majority of
her time will remain with the core AE brand and on aerie by American
Eagle.
New to American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., Laura Dubin Wander will
join the company as president of MARTIN + OSA this April, reporting
directly to Susan McGalla. Ms. Wander will lead the design,
merchandising, and marketing, as well as all operational functions for
MARTIN + OSA. Most recently, Ms. Wander was president of Dana Buchman
and Laundry by Shelli Segal, both divisions of Liz Claiborne Inc.
Prior to Liz Claiborne, Ms. Wander worked at Victoria's Secret
Catalogue as a director of merchandising, and as a buyer at J.Crew
Inc.
"This is an exciting time for American Eagle Outfitters. As we
continue to grow as a corporation, it's important that we leverage the
talent of our world-class leaders across all aspects of the business,
while making strategic additions to complement the existing team,"
said Jim O'Donnell, chief executive officer of American Eagle
Outfitters, Inc. "The promotion of Susan McGalla and the addition of
Laura Dubin Wander, along with other key promotions, put our company
in an even stronger position for the future." Mr. O'Donnell's position
as CEO will remain unchanged.
Other key promotions to set the stage for the company's next level
of growth include:
-- Henry Stafford is promoted to senior vice president and chief
merchandising officer for the AE Brand, including the men's,
women's and accessories divisions, reporting to Ms. McGalla.
Over the past three-plus years as vice president and general
merchandising manager of AE's men's business, Mr. Stafford has
delivered outstanding, consistent results, as well as
demonstrated strong leadership at the company. He has led a
number of large-scale, cross-functional brand and corporate
initiatives, including the implementation of a new product
development structure and AE's expansion in Canada. Reporting
to Mr. Stafford are women's general merchandise managers,
Roberto Croce and Janet Hayes-Daniel, as well as a men's
general merchandising manager, who has yet to be selected.
-- Betsy Schumacher is promoted to senior vice president and
chief merchandising officer for aerie, reporting to Ms.
McGalla. Ms. Schumacher spearheaded the highly successful
launch of the aerie brand and will oversee the brand's
aggressive expansion in 2007 and beyond.
-- Kathy Savitt will assume the title of executive vice president
and chief marketing officer for American Eagle Outfitters,
Inc. In this new role, Savitt will oversee multi-channel
marketing and the AE Direct (online) business for the
company's portfolio of brands, including American Eagle, aerie
and MARTIN + OSA. She will continue to report directly to
Susan McGalla.
About American Eagle Outfitters Inc.
American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) is a leading retailer that
operates under the American Eagle Outfitters and MARTIN + OSA brands.
American Eagle Outfitters designs, markets and sells its own brand
of laidback, current clothing targeting 15 to 25 year-olds, providing
high-quality merchandise at affordable prices. AE's original
collection includes standards like jeans and graphic Ts as well as
essentials like accessories, outerwear, footwear, basics and swimwear.
American Eagle currently operates 833 stores in 50 states, the
District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, and 72 AE stores in Canada.
American Eagle also operates ae.com, which offers additional sizes and
styles of favorite AE merchandise and ships around the world. The
American Eagle brand also includes a new collection of dormwear and
intimates, "aerie by American Eagle." aerie is available in American
Eagle stores across the country and at aerie.com. It includes bras,
undies, camis, hoodies, robes, boxers, sweats and leggings for the AE
girl. Designed to be sweetly sexy, comfortable and cozy, aerie offers
AE customers a new way to express their personal style everyday, from
the dormroom to the coffee shop to the classroom.
The company also introduced MARTIN + OSA, a new sportswear concept
targeting 25 to 40 year-old women and men. MARTIN + OSA carries
apparel, accessories and footwear, using denim and sport inspiration
to design fun and sport back into sportswear. MARTIN + OSA currently
operates seven stores. For additional information and updates, visit
www.martinandosa.com.
"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward-looking statements,
which represent our expectations or beliefs concerning future events,
specifically regarding future growth and results. All forward-looking
statements made by the company involve material risks and
uncertainties and are subject to change based on factors beyond the
company's control. Such factors include, but are not limited to the
risk that future growth plans or earnings expectations may not be
achieved and those other risks described in the Risk Factor Section of
the company's Form 10-K and Form 10-Qs filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Accordingly, the company's future performance and
financial results may differ materially from those expressed or
implied in any such forward-looking statements. The company does not
undertake to publicly update or revise its forward-looking statements
even if future changes make it clear that projected results expressed
or implied will not be realized.
CONTACT: American Eagle Outfitters Inc.
Jani Strand, 724-779-6149
strandj@ae.com
OR
Judy Meehan, 724-776-4857
meehanj@ae.com
SOURCE: American Eagle Outfitters Inc.