Richard Seesel

American Eagle Closing Martin & Osa

March 10, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
American Eagle was hoping its Martin + Osa concept would give it a bridge to consumers that had outgrown its teen and young adult American Eagle line. On Monday, the company pulled the plug on the concept. What is your reaction to American Eagle's decision to close Martin + Osa?      [more...]

I have shopped several Martin & Osa stores since the concept began a few years ago, especially the Old Orchard store (outside Chicago) a couple of times a year. The original concept made sense--targeting male and female customers in their late 20s to mid-40s who had "outgrown" American Eagle--but the execution was inconsistent from one visit to the next. The assortment veered from its original vision and skewed too "young," approaching J.Crew and Banana Republic territory with an overly casual point of view. (And the quality was inconsistent from visit to visit.)

It's worth keeping an eye on the rollout of Madewell (from J.Crew) as a better-executed strategy from this vantage point.