Dive Brief:

• American Eagle Outfitters announced Thursday that Bob Madore has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer, reporting to Chief Executive Officer, Jay Schottenstein, effective Oct. 28.

• Madore replaces interim CFO Scott Hurd, who took the reins in April upon the retirement of Mary Boland, who had served in the post since 2012. Madore will oversee all aspects of finance, merchandise planning and allocation and investor relations.

• Madore is a certified public accountant and formerly the CFO of Ralph Lauren from April 2015 to September 2016. Before that, he held other financial and operational roles at Ralph Lauren. He was also the CFO at New York & Company, COO and CFO at McCann-Erickson WorldGroup’s branding consultancy FutureBrand and held various executive positions at Nine West Group, Inc.

Dive Insight:

As a seasoned retail veteran with an expertise in finance, Madore may be the key to keeping American Eagle on top of the teen retail food chain. 

The retailer's turnaround has been one of the biggest success stories in the teen apparel market, thanks in large part to its highly successful Aerie brand. Aerie’s marketing strategy eschews photoshopping models, a differentiation that has resonated with younger consumers. The retailer has also made a point of increasing the quality of its jeans and has focused on tightening its inventory, which CEO Jay ​Schottenstein said last month is all “clearly paying off.” 

Madore noted American Eagle’s resurgence in his statement Thursday, saying that the retailer is "at an exciting time of transformation and growth."

Teen retailers like American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch, American Apparel and Aeropostale were hit hard in recent years by increased competition from fast-fashion retailers like Forever 21 and H&M, which provide trendy pieces at low prices.  Abercrombie has seen success in backing away from its highly sexualized, label-heavy promotional plan of past, while American Apparel, by contrast, has failed to gain traction, and is reportedly for sale, after emerging as a private company from bankruptcy in February.

American Eagle Outfitters in August reported a second quarter same-store rise of 3%, edging out expectations. Of that, American Eagle's same-store sales increased 1%, while Aerie's same-store sales rose 24%. The retailer also reported Q2 earnings of $41.6 million, compared with $33.3 million in the year ago period. Q2 revenue increased 3.2% to $822.6 million, beating a revenue forecast of $820 million by Thomson Reuters. 

American Eagle says it expects third quarter earnings to be approximately 40 or 41 cents per share, compared to 35 cents per share of a year ago, and anticipates a low single digit increase in same-store sales.