American Eagle Outfitters Sues Amazon

By Jonathan Stempel

NEW YORK (Reuters) – American Eagle Outfitters has filed a lawsuit against Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) for allegedly infringing on its trademarks, specifically for its brands “Aerie” and “Offline by Aerie,” by redirecting customers to counterfeit merchandise.

In a complaint lodged in Manhattan federal court, American Eagle stated that it rejected Amazon’s request to sell Aerie products. The company emphasized its desire for Aerie to develop its own identity through partnerships with brand ambassadors such as Olympic gymnast Aly Raisman and singer Kelsea Ballerini.

American Eagle warned Amazon on August 9 to cease directing customers to imitation products, but alleges that Amazon only approached infringement differently by using misspellings like “Aeries” and “Aries” in its sponsored ads.

The complaint stated, “AEO protects its brands and cannot allow bad actors like Amazon to confuse and deceive consumers” by promoting inferior knock-offs and taking advantage of the goodwill associated with the Aerie brand.

As of now, Amazon has not issued any comment following the announcement.

The lawsuit is seeking to recover triple damages along with punitive damages and an end to further infringements.

Aerie was founded in 2006, and Offline by Aerie launched in 2020, says the complaint. American Eagle runs nearly 1,500 retail locations.

Aerie contributed 32% to American Eagle’s net revenue of $2.43 billion for the six months ending August 3, with the flagship American Eagle brand making up a significant portion of the remainder.

The case is titled American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) Inc et al v Amazon.com Services LLC et al in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 24-07251.