Dive Brief:

• American Eagle Outfitters blamed the weather and one-time expenses for poor Q4 sales, which were down from last year’s $1.1 billion to $1 billion. Sales at stores open at least a year fell 7%.

• In January the company let go widely well regarded CEO Robert Hanson because of poor holiday sales and tapped Jay Schottenstein, the company's chairman and former CEO, in the interim.

• Observers have noted the pressure from fast-fashion retailers which are so attractive to penny-pinching unemployed teens.

Dive Insight:

American Eagle Outfitters interim CEO Jay Schottenstein noted after the Q4 sales report that the company could improve its product lines and “better engage our core customers.” Unless he wants to take the company into the fast-fashion world, where clothing is made to last only as long as the latest fashion whim, that’s exactly what American Eagle must do. Abercrombie & Fitch’s Hollister brand has recently taken that leap, but it wouldn't necessarily solve American Eagle's problems. For one thing, that arena could get crowded. For another, it may not be necessarily what American Eagle’s core customers want. A lot of retailers continue to blame terrible weather and discount pressures for poor showings late last year and in Q4. That’s fair, because it’s been mostly true. But the ice is melting.