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Sourcing Journal · Quiet Logistics

American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) is shuttering two regional distribution centers as it sunsets its Quiet Logistics operation, resulting in 211 layoffs across the company.

The company is closing a warehouse in La Palma, Calif. in April, resulting in 108 layoffs, according to a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Notice filed with the state of California on Feb. 2.

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On Feb. 11, AEO filed another WARN notice in Massachusetts indicating that a facility in Quiet’s former hometown of Devens would cease operations, with the retailer laying off 103 employees in the process. Those cuts will take place between April 12 and May 6, before the warehouse shutters.

Both notices were filed by AE Regional Distribution Co. LLC, the retailer’s subsidiary formerly known as Quiet Logistics, Inc.

The retailer is discontinuing Quiet services for third-party customers over the next several months as part of its winding down, but a company spokesperson said upon the news of the shutdown that AEO would assist customers to identify and transition to new providers.

“We appreciate the contributions of our associates, and we are committed to doing what we can to support them as well,” the spokesperson said.

Quiet first opened the Boston-area 355,000-square-foot fulfillment center in November 2018, three years ahead of the company’s $360 million acquisition by AEO in 2021. The 440,000-square-foot Los Angeles-area site opened in July 2019, bringing the third-party logistics provider (3PL) to the West Coast for the first time.

As of Feb. 1, 2025, AEO leased six total regional distribution facilities throughout the U.S. for its Quiet Logistics division, totaling 2.1 million square feet. All six warehouses primarily served as AEO’s regionalized fulfillment centers, with all leases expiring by 2030.

But two of those facilities closed in the first quarter of 2025, suggesting that the retailer had to make supply chain network adjustments based on reduced third-party fulfillment demand. During the period, AEO shuttered a Quiet warehouse in Chicago and another near St. Louis in Hazelwood, Mo.

Quiet’s Atlanta-based fulfillment center, the first to open under American Eagle’s ownership, will remain open to provide distribution services for the apparel retailer.

The moves come as the company has also rearranged its retail footprint across the U.S. in 2025. During an earnings call in December, the company said it was on track to open 22 Aerie and 26 Offline stores to complete the year, while closing 35 lower productivity American Eagle stores.

American Eagle isn’t just resorting to closing its Quiet facilities. In early February, AEO sold off another former Quiet warehouse to e-commerce fulfillment solutions provider Stord.

Stord is taking on the customers serviced by the Quiet Logistics facility located in Dallas.

“This deal ensures continuity for customers,” said Sean Henry, CEO and co-founder of Stord in a statement. “As brands everywhere assess and reimagine their business to be more resilient, this agreement creates stability and unlocks access to Stord’s global network reach and market-leading commerce enablement technology for their former customers.”

Henry said in a video posted on LinkedIn that “many” employees working at the warehouse would continue to work at Stord.

Terms of that deal were not disclosed.

Unlike AEO’s shrinking physical logistics footprint, Stord is undergoing an expansion of its business.

In December, Stord announced a more than $40 million expansion to a complex in Hebron, Ky. in De, which it expects to invest over a span of five to 10 years. The investment is aimed at modernizing the warehouse with automation and installing Stord’s proprietary warehouse management systems and transportation management system.

The building will add an additional 525,000 square feet of space, including 8,772 square feet on the second floor ready for optimization, with 49 dock doors. This would effectively double the space in the facility, which was initially 640,000 square feet, making it the largest warehouse in its network.

The investment is also expected to support the hiring and training of over 500 employees.

Stord acquired the warehouse when it scooped up Pitney Bowes’ e-commerce fulfillment business last year.

To kick off 2025, Stord unveiled another acquisition, purchasing AI fulfillment platform Shipwire from Ceva Logistics. That deal adds another 12 locations to Stord’s physical arsenal, giving the company a larger presence in the E.U. and U.K. Through Shipwire’s existing logistics agreements, Stord still has access to Ceva’s global network of roughly 1,000 warehouses.

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