In this assignment, you are to use the same corporation you selected and focused on for Assignments 1, 2, and 3. ( THE COMPANY IS AMERICAN EAGLE)Consider the corporation you have selected to use in yo

Week 3 Assignment 1

Week 3 Assignment 1

The corporation chosen for assessment in this paper is American Eagle Outfitters Inc. (AEO) the company deals in teen fashion clothes in the American market. AEO is a multinational company with trading roots in many regions. This trait makes AEO the perfect company choice for dissection in this assignment. This paper indulges in the globalization aspect of AEO, how technology has impacted the company's growth, the real importance of AEO's mission and vision statements, and the models leading to the organization's success.

American Eagle Outfitters was founded almost 43 years ago in 1977. The company began as an accessory store for women and men footwear with other retail chains in over 36 states in the 1980s. AOE’s growth was fueled by consistent and fruitful integration into new markets all over the USA. A globalization strategy implemented by the shareholders at the time involved focusing the company’s sales on clothes outfits instead of footwear. This focus has dramatically influenced the organization's capability to produce quality and customer targeted outfit products. This tactic aided in the company's advancement to 803 company-owned stores as of February 2020 (American Eagle Outfitters Inc FORM 10-K, 2020). Another effective strategy that helped AEO's journey to global market indulgence is when the company joined the stock exchange in 1994. American Eagle Outfitters is a major player in the American and global market. A giant among competitors, AEO ranges in the likes of Nike in the market. The company has impacted the competition by acquiring a niche market of teenagers and occasionally 25-40-year-olds who also fantasy wearing the company’s products. Globalization into other countries and markets have changed American Eagle Outfitters in the following ways. It has finessed the company’s market entry techniques through the use of past market entry experience.

Additionally, globalization has increased the company’s revenue to over 2 billion in the 2020 fiscal year. Last but not least, globalization has impacted AEO by providing extensive access to resources, technology, capital, new market, and human capital. The companies identify that globalization has enhanced its acquisition of raw materials for its finished products. American Eagle Outfitters acquires its raw materials from multiple merchants all over the world. The company applies a tactic of not buying more than 10% of raw material from a single manufacturer. Hence, the company not tied to exclusive rights for a manufacturer.

American Eagle Outfitters is a versatile organization moving as fast as the technological world is moving. The company has advanced over into e-commerce and dominated the scene. With digital platforms in over 81 countries, the company offers its products to customers via a digital channel like  www.toddsnyder.com. This site is one of the digital channels used by AEO to target markets in each market segment. Moreover, this is a technology that has advanced and enhanced the indoor experience of customers by replicating physical stores on online channels. The company has perfected the art of digital commerce by studying customer buying patterns and working to fulfill customer needs. The company also recently advanced into Oracle cloud computing technology to enhance the companies employee transfer process. Efficient cloud computing services from Oracle have improved the companies online presence by reducing downtime and system maintenance problems. Customers can now engage in AEO’s digital channels with seamless ease when purchasing products. The use of cookies on the companies official website has opened up avenues for the company to improve the customer's buying experience. Through the use of these cookies, the company can offer streamlined and relevant information to its customers based on their location and buying patterns.

The external environment of American Eagle Outfitters is filled with hazardous and potential risk factors. For the organization to reel in above-average earnings, various aspects need to be implemented in the companies industry organization model. American Eagle Outfitters has been taken to court on multiple occasions on the grounds of design mimicking. On all these occasions, American Eagle Outfitters won the case by proving that it is impossible to patent design in their line of work. In this light, American Eagle Outfitters has improved its brand recognition by imprinting the company’s label on the clothes products it sells. By doing this, it was an efficient strategy that acts as a way to perfect monopolistic competition in the sensitive industry. Another plan for the industry organization model is aiming to acquire a market monopoly in other countries. Buying market monopoly in the United States for American Eagle Outfitters may be next to impossible, with other brands like Nike having more significant influence in this market. By advancing into new markets like Canada, and Dubai, American Eagle Outfitters can acquire market monopoly status. That would be a good tactic that will allow the company to gain above-average revenue.

AEO is a company that has been in the retail clothing market for 43 years. The reputation of the company is one that is ingrained in most American minds. In this sense, the company continues to produce quality products for its customers and has continued to ferment the companies reputation in the eyes of customers and potential customers. The continued production of quality products has ensured increased revenue for the company leading to above-average returns once new customers become loyal to the organization. Additionally, the company has a customer loyalty program that provides rewards, convenience, and excellent customer experience for customers who visit the digital channel of the organization. The efficiency of the resource-based model begins when AEO orders products from merchants from over 300 merchants worldwide. This model is a trick that ensures the company acquires the best of materials available from all over the world.

Similarly, the company has quality testing facilities for procured resources and raw materials. The inspection program monitors for compliance with AEO’s code of conduct for suppliers. This program has ensured continued quality production of the companies products and hence above-average earnings.

The vision statement for American Eagle Outfitters indicates that AEO is a company that is built on trust, integrity, and honesty. The company honors individuality and celebrates self-expression. The company’s stakeholders are determined, creative, hardworking, and aim at encouraging everyone to be their best self (Borden, 2010). The company banks on integrity by ensuring it provides quality products for its customers at all times. That is evident in the company's inspection programs of raw materials sourced from suppliers.

Additionally, AEO is continually creative and hardworking by working continuously to provide customers with the best online shopping experiences in the market. The company has also invested in specializing with women wear by introducing another child company of American Eagle Outfitters known as Aerie. AEO has also encouraged its customers to be self-expressive by providing platforms for the customers to raise their issues online. This platform is in line with the company's vision of delivering self-expression capacities to its stakeholders, including customers.

The mission statement for American Eagle Outfitters states that the company is committed to treating the people making the clothes in the company with respect and dignity (Mission Statement Academy, 2019). This mission statement goes a long way in chipping in for the company’s overall success. The company has an employee review platform where employees indicate their rating for the company. Employees can raise their concerns anonymously, which are later evaluated and acted upon. Employee satisfaction is a vital issue that means how customers will be treated in the organization. The impact of the mission statement is that it keeps American Eagle Outfitters management on their toes in adhering and meeting to the requirement of treating employees with dignity and respect.

The capital market stakeholders of American Eagle Outfitters include Cooke and Bieler, The Vanguard Group, Dimensional Fund Advisors, and BlackRock Fund Advisors are some of the largest shareholders of the company. These shareholders are responsible for funding the companies projects and investing in prospects in the company. Their impact on the companies success is a phenomenon. Shareholders can steer AEO’s trajectory towards success by implementing mitigation techniques and funding in areas performing poorly in the organization. There are the product market stakeholders, which include suppliers, unions, primary customers, and host communities. This category dramatically impacts the success of the company, suppliers provide quality resources to the company, primary customers purchase products from the company and generate revenue, unions guide the company by giving policies on how the company will operate in the market, and host communities accept the company into their market. Finally, organizational stakeholders of American Eagle Outfitters e.g., managers, nonmanagers, and employees, are responsible for the daily operations in the company. Managers delegate duties to employees, and the nonmanagers monitor the companies operation and income generation in the market. (Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson. 2020).

1. Hitt, Ireland, & Hoskisson. 2020. Strategic management: Concepts and Cases: Competitiveness and globalization (13th ed.). Mason, OH: South-Western Cengage Learning https://shabbiroffice.files.wordpress.com/2017/01/strategic-managment-concept-and-case-by-hitt.pdf

2. The United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Washington, 2020. American Eagle Outfitters Inc For the Fiscal year ended February 1, 2020, https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/919012/000156459020010469/aeo-10k_20200201.htm

3. Borden, R. (2010). American Eagle Outfitters creates a branded intranet that unites its associates. Global Business and Organizational Excellence, 29(2), 40-46. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/joe.20307

4. Mission Statement Academy, (2019). American Eagle Outfitters Mission Statement https://mission-statement.com/american-eagle-outfitters-company/