Omnichannel Results Exceed Expectations for American Eagle

American Eagle Outfitters, ecommerce, omnichannel, omnichannel fulfillment, omnichannel operations, omnichannel retail, buy online pickup in store, ship from store, store to doorAmerican Eagle Outfitters is seeing success with its omnichannel program, which contributed to good numbers for the fourth quarter.

Michael Rempell, COO of American Eagle, said in a call with analysts that the company’s buy online/pickup in store, ship from store and “store to door” operations resulted in $50 million in revenue during the second half of the year, nearly doubling the company’s expectations. Store to door involves placing an online order with an associate while in store, and having it shipped to their home for free.

“It (omnichannel) allowed us to leverage inventory in the store,” Rempell said. “A lot of people can implement technology, but very few companies I think can execute across the board including store operations, technology and training the way our teams did. So it did have a nice impact on comps.”

Rempell said American Eagle is looking forward to a full year of omnichannel results, including from a reserve in store option that will be put in place in 2015.

American Eagle reported quarterly adjusted earnings of 36 cents per share, up 33% from 27 cents per share in 2013 and ahead of the analyst estimate of 34 cents per share. Executives said the improvement in earnings reflected strong sales in the quarter combined with lower promotions.

Net sales in the quarter rose nearly 3% to $1.072 billion, up from $1.041 billion in the prior-year quarter and above the analyst estimate of $1.054 billion.