US clothing brand American Eagle stocks jumped in recent days, after the retailer raised holiday quarter sales forecast from previous 2 per cent to 8–9 per cent. The company continued to see traffic increase following its viral ad campaign featuring Euphoria star Sydney Sweeney, which caused progressive outrage back in July.
According to Fox News, American Eagle’s stock is up 136 per cent over the past six months, with a gain around 50 per cent in November only, and 19 per cent rise in recent days. The retailer now expects holiday-quarter comparable sale to grow between 8 to 9 per cent, well above analysts’ estimates of a 2.2 per cent.
‘I’m extremely pleased with the significant trend change across our business reflecting decisive steps taken from merchandising to marketing to operations–all having a positive impact,’ American Eagle Outfitters CEO Jay Schottenstein stressed. He added that strong momentum is continued into to fourth quarter, including an ‘excellent start’ to the holiday season.
‘We delivered a record-breaking Thanksgiving weekend, led by an acceleration in demand across brands and channels and underscored by outstanding growth at Aerie and Offline,’ he pointed out. ‘We are focused on finishing the season strong and sustaining our success into 2026 and beyond.’
The iconic Sydney Sweeney campaign, launched in July, caused massive meltdown among progressives. In the ad, Sweeney says: ‘Genes are passed down from parents to offspring, often determining traits like hair color, personality and even eye color. My jeans are blue,’ which led to accusations of racism and white-supremacy. Some described it as ‘blatant white supremacist eugenicist propaganda’, accusing both the actress and the brand of spreading ‘Nazi-like messages’. If that were not enough, Sweeney was also criticized for simply looking attractive in the advert, with accusations that the campaign was sexist and objectified women.
The ad campaign ruled US public discourse for weeks, making American Eagle one of the most-talked brand across the Atlantic at the time. The ad also became a flashpoint in Europe, with Dutch then-governing party leader Geert Wilders claiming that ‘woke is dead’ after the success of the campaign resulted in increasing sales of American Eagle products.
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