American Eagle Sydney Sweeney marketing campaign ‘hottest advert’: Trump

Shares of American Eagle surged greater than 15% on Monday after President Donald Trump complimented the retailer’s advertising and marketing marketing campaign with actress Sydney Sweeney.

“Sydney Sweeney, a registered Republican, has the ‘HOTTEST’ advert on the market. It is for American Eagle, and the denims are ‘flying off the cabinets.’ Go get ’em Sydney!” Trump wrote on his social media website Reality Social not lengthy after markets opened. 

Shortly after Trump’s submit, shares of American Eagle surged, and simply earlier than 11 a.m. ET, have been nonetheless buying and selling greater than 15% increased. Monday’s positive factors come a bit of over every week after American Eagle first introduced that the “Euphoria” star would headline its fall advertising and marketing marketing campaign with the slogan: “Sydney Sweeney has nice denims.”

Initially, the inventory surged in an obvious bout of meme inventory mania, however over the previous week, shares of the corporate have been down as American Eagle has confronted criticism that the marketing campaign was sexist and out of contact. That droop rebounded on Monday when Trump weighed in on the discourse.

As of Friday’s shut, shares of American Eagle have been down greater than 27% up to now this 12 months as the corporate grapples with bigger macroeconomic issues associated to tariffs, shopper spending and its personal merchandising missteps. 

Earlier this 12 months, the corporate stated it might take a $75 million write-down in spring and summer season merchandise after it pulled its full-year steering because of gradual gross sales, steep discounting and a risky macroeconomic setting.

For its present quarter, American Eagle stated in Might that it expects income to fall 5%, comparable gross sales to be down 3% and gross margin to be decrease in contrast with the prior 12 months. Its working earnings for the second quarter is anticipated to be between $40 million and $45 million.

The impression the Sweeney marketing campaign is having on its gross sales, for higher or worse, stays to be seen.