Brooke Shields has proven herself to be quite the saleswoman after helping to boost shares of fashion brand American Eagle Outfitters by an impressive six per cent – simply by posting an Instagram photo of herself and her daughters modeling matching bikinis from the company.
The 56-year-old shared the photo of herself and teenagers Rowan and Grier posing in black-and-white gingham swimwear designs from American Eagle’s lifestyle brand Aerie on Tuesday – and within less than 24 hours, shares in the company had shot up by more than six per cent.
Pre-market trading figures on Wednesday indicated a three per cent rise in AEO stock, and by lunchtime, the brand had added an estimated $485 million to its market cap in the hours since Brooke’s Instagram photo was posted.
In the photo, which was shared with Brooke’s 1.2 million Instagram followers and had Aerie’s account included as its only tag, the actress is seen modeling a gingham puff-sleeve bikini from Aerie’s Real Good Swim collection, while standing with her arms thrown around Rowan, 18, and Grier, 15, who also sported coordinating designs from the brand.
Bikini boost! Brooke Shields helped to send American Eagle Outfitters stock soaring by more than six per cent after posting a photo of herself and her daughter’s modeling its swimwear
Selling power: The 56-year-old actress shared the image, which saw her and her daughters Rowan, 18, and Grier, 15, modeling matching Aerie bathing suits, on Instagram on Tuesday
On the up! In less than 24 hours after Brooke posted her photo, shares of American Eagle Outfitters – the parent company of Aerie – had gone up by more than six per cent
It is not known whether Brooke received payment for the post, and the mother-of-two did not indicate that the Instagram image was sponsored when sharing it.
Credit: Although Brooke did not indicate whether she was paid for the post, she did tag Aerie in her Instagram snap, helping to direct attention to the lifestyle brand, which accounts for 40 per cent of American Eagle’s sales
However, the image quickly went viral, notching up more than 100,000 likes – more than double the average that Brooke’s typically posts achieve – and in turn, it appears to have given American Eagle a serious boost on the stock market.
On Tuesday morning before Brooke’s post was shared, AEO shares were valued at $34.39, however by the start of NYSE trading on Wednesday, the price had soared to $36.78 – an increase of more than 6.9 per cent.
American Eagle’s latest stock market success comes less than one month since its shares went up by 5.5 per cent ahead of the release of its first-quarter earnings report – with experts attributing the increase to the popularity of Aerie, which saw a huge surge in sales amid the pandemic thanks to its varied loungewear offerings.
‘Investors might view American Eagle as prepared to beat analyst expectations on the strength of its Aerie loungewear brand, which has been a strong performer throughout,’ Nasdaq.com contributor Rich Duprey said of the shares hike.
‘Especially as working from home became an imperative for many – and still is – comfortable clothes that met various fashion needs became de rigueur for consumers.’
Say cheese! The actress and her daughters also posed for professional photos, which were emailed out to the media by American Eagle’s publicity team in a press release on Tuesday
Strike a pose: The trio took several selfies during their day out on the beach in Southampton, all while being snapped by a professional photographer
Empowering: Brooke also showed off a scar on her leg from a life-threatening femur break that she suffered earlier this year, and which required seven metal rods and a plate to repair
According to the site, Aerie currently accounts for 40 per cent of American Eagle’s sales, and the website reports that ‘analysts expect [the lifestyle label] to become a $2 billion to $3 billion brand’.
As well as Brooke’s Instagram post, the brand was given an added boost by the extensive media coverage of the image – which was accompanied by several professional images of the actress and her daughters during the day out at the beach in Southampton.
After the actress’ post went live, American Eagle’s publicity team sent out a press release about the shoot, sharing photos of Brooke and her daughters, along with information about the designs that each of them wore for their beach day.
The images saw the mother and her daughters posing up a storm on a beach in the Hamptons, snapping selfies together and sharing a few laughs.
Brooke looked relaxed, happy, and healthy in the photos, which were snapped just months after she suffered a life-threatening femur break that required two emergency surgeries during which she had seven metal rods and a metal plate put into her leg.
Progress: Brooke looked relaxed and healthy in the photos, which were taken five months after she suffered the life-threatening femur break, which required two emergency surgeries
Emotional: The actress confessed last month that her daughters asked her if she was ‘going to die’ during her weeks-long hospitalization
Concern: Brooke revealed that she has ‘never been more afraid’ than she was while suffering from the aftermath of the injury, which occurred during a workout
A scar could be seen on her thigh as she modeled her gingham bikini – having recently revealed that her children were left fearing that she would die during her weeks-long hospital ordeal.
The actress was on day 13 of a 14-day workout plan back in January, when she fell off a balance board and flew into the air, landing on her upper leg and hip and breaking her femur, the largest bone in the body.
She went on to have multiple surgeries and even suffered a staph infection, and revealed that her kids were asking ‘if I thought I was gonna die’ — but though she said she had not ‘ever been more afraid,’ she now considers the ordeal to be a blessing.
‘I think it’s almost been the biggest blessing to date because I realize what a fighter I am,’ she said on Good Morning America last month.
‘My kids actually asked me if I thought I was gonna die,’ she said of her daughters, whose father is Brooke’s second husband Chris Henchy, with whom she tied the knot in 2001.