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The New Albany-based retailer launched the line in 2008 and has grown it to 28 standalone stores worldwide, but the brand's reach increased almost tenfold this year as Abercrombie put Gilly Hicks products into 225 of its Abercrombie stores in the U.S. and overseas.
CEO Michael Jeffries said the results of that test are strong and the company is ready to roll it out to more Abercrombie shops next spring.
"We are pleased with the results of this test and believe that sales were largely incremental," Jeffries said Thursday on a conference call for stock analysts. "We remain very excited about this category. And I think we're getting better and better at it."
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He said international online sales for the brand are good as well.
It's part of a push to expand the in-store selection into new products that can add to sales and comes in the wake of disappointing second-quarter results reported Thursday.
Jeffries attributed the struggles in the quarter to macroeconomic issues and continued difficulties selling products to women and girls, with knit tops being the biggest miss. He didn't draw a direct connection to the Gilly Hicks product expansion and the soft sales with women, but such a link is logical.
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Analyst Jennifer Black of Jennifer Black & Associates LLC, in a Thursday research report said the addition of Gilly Hicks products at Abercrombie is a good move.
"We have been big believers in the Gilly Hicks brand and merchandise as it provides the Abercrombie girl with a complete lifestyle offering," she wrote, adding that activewear would be a good extension for the stores as well.
