Aerie, American Eagle’s lingerie brand, has enjoyed a 20% percent rise in sales over the past year, and company head Jen Foyle says it’s all thanks to their #AerieReal campaign, which features models of varying sizes, all untouched by Photoshop.
BuzzFeed’s Sapna Maheshwari reports:
Aerie’s success stands out in a brutal year for clothing chains from Gap to J.Crew, caused by what Urban Outfitters’ CEO said was an absence of fashion trends. The brand’s comparable sales, which excludes boosts from new store openings, soared 20% last year and 26% in the fourth quarter.
“The core of what’s happening here in Aerie is really this marketing campaign that’s really starting to take hold,” states Foyle. “The #AerieReal campaign is so authentic and it’s really resonating with this young woman today.”
Yes, Ms. Foyle, I respect that thought, but also, respectfully, I am not listening. I have little interest in today’s “young woman” and a lot of interest in “me, the woman.” And me, the woman, thinks that people—particularly the younger generation—have caught onto Aerie underwear because their more mature idols (hello) have been wearing and praising it for years.
Your 7 pairs of seamless (SEAMLESS, THANK HEAVENS) undies for $27 dollars pulls me back in every time I want to put off doing laundry for an extra week (i.e. every time I have to do laundry). They’re cotton and they’re cute and some have lace and most of them are invisible, even under very tight jeans.
I’ve been a devotee since my own teen years—back when American Eagle apparel was reserved for my slim-hipped peers and I was often reduced to tears by trying on an unflattering tennis skirt in one of your many retail outlets’ dressing rooms. (Now, I only cry at TopShop.) Still, I found solace in Aerie, light as air, and now—even though the last time I went in to purchase them, your store was playing Sisqo’s “Thong Song” as a part of your oldies lineup—I find solace (and a comfortable cotton crotch cradle) in them still.
This is not an ad and I haven’t received any payment or gifts from Aerie. As a devoted fan, I just wanted to say thank you and congratulations on your recent success.
[UPDATE: The post originally stated wrongly that Aerie sales rose 7% in the past year when the percentage is actually 20%.]
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Images via AE.