- Craig, welcome, two hot topics
in fashion right now, sustainability,
and of course, AI, particularly Gen AI.
Let's go for Gen AI first, shall we?
How are you seeing it impact the industry?
And how are you at American Eagle
managing such a fast-changing tech?
- Honestly, I think Gen AI is the most controversial topic
in fashion right now.
Why do I say that?
Our brands are founded on the principle of being real,
and Gen AI has the potential of being the opposite.
So I think as we think about our creative going forward,
I think we have real, moral, ethical, legal,
and brand decisions to work through
before we fully embrace this new technology.
- What is top of your mind about it at the moment?
There are all those risks,
but are you looking at some of the potentials too?
- Absolutely.
Below the line, we're very excited about things
like media optimization, inventory optimization,
but I think above the line,
especially for our core Gen Z audience,
what we're concerned about
is the high BS meter that our customer has.
And when they see something that doesn't feel authentic,
that doesn't feel real, they'll call us out.
So we got to get this right.
- And the second big broad topic,
we're not going to be able to do either justice here
in this short amount of time, but it's sustainability.
What impact are you seeing that have on the industry
and how it's responding to it
and how you yourselves are responding?
- I actually think sustainability
is one of the most exciting topics in retail.
This just in, Gen Z talks out of both sides of their mouths,
and on one side, I think you have companies
like American Eagle that are really making
some nice progress to have a more sustainable future.
Almost 100% of our jeans are now sustainably made.
Unfortunately, on the other side of the equation,
you have some bad actors who are making some bad decisions
for our planet, and I love the fact that sustainability
and the progress we're making
gives Gen Z a choice on who to vote for.