American Eagles’ kids brand, called 77kids by american eagle, will go from online to bricks-and-mortar when seven stores open beginning next month in Pittsburgh at The Mall at Robinson. Other confirmed locations include: Danbury Fair, Danbury, Conn.; Mall of America, Bloomington, Minn.; Cherry Hill Mall, Cherry Hill, N.J.; Carousel Center, Syracuse, N.Y.; and Crabtree Valley Mall, Raleigh, N.C.
“Designing the 77kids store experience has been a labor of love for our entire team,” says Betsy Schumacher, chief merchandising officer, 77kids by american eagle. “We are striving to create an environment that showcases our ‘kid cool’ assortment, while also offering an interactive, entertaining shopping experience unlike anything else. Our goal is to make 77kids the first and last stop at the mall for on-trend clothing and accessories for babies and kids.”
Elements of the store design will include a “denim canyon,” featuring the extensive 77kids denim collection and games projected onto the floor to entertain kids while parents shop. Additionally, each store will have two 77kids interactive touch screens that allow young shoppers to interact with a make-believe world of animated characters and select 77kids outfits, which will appear virtually on the user like a digital paper doll.
In addition, the Pittsburgh-based company is launching little77, a new line of clothing and accessories for babies, which will be sold online and in the new brick-and-mortar stores. The new line, for infants to age 18 months will include denim, graphic tees, hoodies and “kid cool” fashion items for boys and girls.
American Eagle launched the kids brand in October 2008 as an online-only brand. A year later, it opened a pop-up store in the Pittsburgh area. The parent company operates 937 American Eagles stores and 143 aerie by american eagle locations in the U.S. and Canada.