American Eagle CMO Shares How The Brand Avoided The Retail Apocalypse

American Eagle Outfitters has become a bright spot amid the carnage of the retail apocalypse — thanks largely to its investment in experiential retail, according to Chief Marketing Officer Kyle Andrew. Speaking at the UBS Future of Retail conference in New York City on Monday, Andrew acknowledged that while not every strategy has been a win, innovating around failure has been key to the brand’s success. While stunts like offering laundry at a store near New York University or radically changing its physical store design haven’t always translated directly to sales, it helps the company understand what works. “You have to try some stuff and fail because it gives you so much information to then try something else,” she said. “American Eagle is very good at that. We’re investing and researching, we’re trying different things both online and offline, and we’re trying to get more nimble and move faster.” Read more at Business Insider.