this is for CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPOSABILITY CLASS.

QUESTION!!!

What should AE Management do next? Should they continue to offer this item and

others like it? Should they expand their offerings to include a line of Modest Fashion?

Consider both benefits and downsides.

spiel Netf SMX 7 rea Com C Che Get V Type S Sout Orar My My The G Mau GAME Case My L Why /Users/usuario/Downloads/American_Cl_0.pdf O File Update Microsoft Word - American_Ci.docx 1/3 100% + 10 Introduction Drawing people's attention to new apparel introductions was hard, but there was no mistaking the fervor and involvement this time. Many tweets ignited the Twitter universe: "I'm glad someone made it happen," Honestly it's kind of exciting to see American Eagle (AE) come out with a denim hijah, like go you, you're doing amazing sweetie. Another said "Now this is what I call inclusion; the denim hijab by American Eagle." (Sciarrctto, 2017). These tweets referred to a new product that had been added to the AE website-a denim hijab. In contrast, the intensity of those who were angry about the introduction was palpable. One critic summarized the sentiment of many: "So much for the American in the Eagle ...a hijab is now considered traditional American garb?"; another said "The hijab isn't exactly a fashion statement. It's a u sign of female enslavement." (Chumley, 2017). AE introduced their first hijab made with soft denim fabric in an indigo wash on its website in July 2017. Less than two weeks later, it was sold out. The online promotion of the hijab included a high fashion model named Halima Aden; she had risen to fame when she became the first Muslim model to appear on Allure magazine wearing a hijab. Part of the strong positive response was that she had been a Somali refugee to the U.S. only a few years earlier (Sciarretto, 2017). 2 Journalists were effusive in their remarks that AE had made a "critically important gesture" and a "landmark move" (Abarbanel, 2017). Fashionista magazine noted that "it might seem like a small thing, bul for many Muslim American women who have felt sidelined by mainstream Western fashion, seeing a mass retailer offer garmets directly (and exclusively) - at an accessible price point of $19.95- aimed at them may feel significant" (Bauck, 2017). The negative comments were, nonetheless, hard to ignore. Had AE opened Pandora's box? Is This a Trend or a Passing Fancy? 3 The AE hijab was not the first product of its kind, nor was AE the first company to introduce Islamic fashion in the U.S. The AE introduction was preceded by Uniqlo in the U.S. in 2016, with their introduction of a Hana Tajima collection of modest wear. The Uniqlo campaign featured a variety of flowing clothing and claimed to "fuse contemporary design and comfortable fabrics with traditional values" (Puente, 2016). H&M in in 2015 had featured a hijab for summer wear (Puente, 2016), and GAP and Nike also had items on the market in 2017. As the middle class in Muslim communities and countries grew, spending on fashion grew as well, and the fashion industry began to notice the increased purchases and what people were buying (Paton, 2016). spiel Netf SMX 7 rea Com C Cheg Get V Type s Sout Orar My My The G Mau GAME Case My L Why /Users/usuario/Downloads/American_Cl_0.pdf File Update : = Microsoft Word - American_Cl.docx 2 / 3 90% + | 0 + The growth of fashion among the world's 1.6 billion Muslims also had its roots in the expansion of Ramadan celebrations. Major brands like H&M, DKNY, Burberry, and Dolce &Gabbana had introduced Ramadan collections for sale. Fashion designers had embraced scarves, headscarves (hijabs), kebayas (tunics), and other loose fitting, stylish clothing items (Walden, 2017). Fashion writers noted the move beyond a religion-based market to a more inclusive, broudly defined market called "Modest Fashion" (Puente, 2016). Modest Fashion was also called a defining trend of the 2010's, with reviewers arguing that many women sought figure-obscuring clothing just to be comfortable, or for a variety of other reasons (Fry, 2017). Market Delinition and Size The global Islamic clothing market was estimated to be $243 billion as of 2014, and was projected to grow to $368 billion by 2021, a compound annual growth rate of 7.2 percent from 2015 (State, 2016). The Islamic Market was 45 percent women and 55 percent men, and was located in the UAE, Turkey, Singapore, Indonesia and muny other countries. Only 33 percent of Muslim buyers were millennials, but they were big purchasers of fashion (State, 2016). The Muslim population in the U.S. was slowly heing recognized by fashion market executives as a largely underserved consumer base with significant spending potential (Abarbanel, 2017). Researchers estimated that 3.3 million Muslims were living in the U.S. (Mohamed, 2016), with annual Muslim clothing consumption in the U.S.cstimated at $6.9 billion (State, 2016-2017). "Modest Fashion", though, is an even broader key growth market (Fry, 2017), reported to be at least 544 billion worldwide (State, 2016). This widely defined market included many more women than just those terined us Islumic or Muslim (Euromonitor, 2014); it included Jewish, Christian, Hindu, and other women. The average age of women interested in Moiest Fashion was 18 to 29 years old. Two-thirds were millennials (State, 2016). 2 3 Downside or Upside? What Should AE Management Do? AE management responded to the public that they were strongly committed to inclusivity and cultural diversity, and that "Many have been inspired by the background of Halima, the model for the campaign, who hus overcome obstacles to achieve her dreams." (American Eagle posts, 2017). The upside of continuing seemed to be huge. But was it? Should they just offer a few items or should they consider the bigger murket, Modest Fashion, that appeared to be trending? Should they stay away from the hijab because of its obvious connection with religion, or should they embrace it? With the current political climate, AE could end up in the middle of a boycott or continued online protests that could hurt. With "American" in its tarde, the company was particularly vulnerable. Management had to decide whether to add a full or partial line of modest clothing or to back down from this offering. What should the next steps be for AE