American Eagle and Aerie pull plug on Carnaby store openings

The American Eagle and sub-brand Aerie’s store openings, which were originally due to happen on Foubert’s Place just off London’s Carnaby Street in December 2021, have now fallen through as AEO EU – the company holding the master licence to trade the two US brands in the UK – has gone into liquidation.

The relationship between AEO EU and the American retail giant American Eagle Outfitters Inc., reportedly went sour after an outstanding $7.7 million (€6.75 million) debt. AEO EU cited the COVID-19 pandemic for the delay in meeting its debt.

Samantha Bain-Mollison, Retail Director at Shaftesbury, said: “The company holding the master licence to trade these two brands in the UK went into liquidation, so could no longer retail from this location.

“We are now remarketing the two stores which are in a prime location in Carnaby and we will be seeking to add to the exciting retail line up of flagship stores on the street which includes Size?, Adidas Originals, NBA and Brandy Melville.”

The 3,888 sq ft American Eagle store at 15 Foubert’s Place, and the 1,630 sq ft debut UK Aerie store at 19 Foubert’s Place, both still had branded vinyl on the store fronts until recently, though neither had begun trading.

American Eagle, which has over 900 stores in the US, made its UK retail debut with three stores in 2014 – at Westfield London, Westfield Stratford and Bluewater in Kent - but pulled out in 2017, closing all three stores.