Picture this: You’re walking through the mall, you smell the siren call of Abercrombie’s “Fierce” cologne from a football field away, and you rush into the dimly lit shop, past shirtless and six-packed men, to fill your arms with as many moose-covered polos as possible. It’s something I did countless times as a high-schooler in the 2000s, but the scene is completely unrecognizable to a younger generation. First of all, no one even goes to malls anymore apparently. But more importantly, Abercrombie has long lost the luster that made it the brand every popular (or wannabe popular) kid in high school used to establish and maintain that popularity. Once upon a time, the brand’s former CEO Mike Jeffries was able to get away with saying his brand was only for those cool people—he wasn’t too far off—but sales have been plummeting at Abercrombie for years and now the brand is surely after any customers who’ll have it. And finally, after a long slide, Abercrombie and its sister brand Hollister have posted positive financial results that beat every analyst estimate. Menswear shaman Aaron Levine joined the brand in 2015 after turning around Club Monaco, leaving the menswear faithful hopeful about the brand’s chances. Is the comeback finally on?

Outlets, including us, have noted Abercrombie’s remade cool—a mix of vintage-inspired menswear classics and logoless essentials. But the financial numbers haven’t supported this theory. It’s been a dreadful couple years for Abercrombie—the corporation was forced to reduce costs $100 million in 2017 on top of cuts they’ve already made totaling $250 million. But now, that all seems to be changing. Without getting too deep into the columns of an Excel spreadsheet, the number to know is that same-store sales (self-explanatory: sales compared to sales at the same store the previous financial quarter) at non-flagship stores are up 4 percent, beating analysts’ average estimate of 0.3 percent. It’s a key indicator that sales are growing with core customers—historically young teens and now, the brand hopes, a slightly older clientele in their early 20s. And it’s a good indication that the brand is starting to level out and find its footing. The analysis is based on three key factors.

The moose is endangered

Any sustainable turnaround is built on good product. Abercrombie is tweaking its assortment in the right ways, starting with lowering the moose population in its stores. “They finally took their medicine on [the moose logo] and have moderated the amount of exposure there,” says A&F analyst Janet Kloppenburg of JJK Research Associates. “It's not only the right thing to do—because people don't want it—but I think it elevated the brand. It didn't look so touristy. It gave the brand more authenticity.” Kloppenburg also credits Levine’s reinvention of denim and a better assortment of outerwear with helping sales.

Tiffany Kanaga, a research analyst at Deutsche Bank, says that in focus groups conducted with kids in Generation Z (the generation born after the mid-90s), she’s found that the teens “express a real distaste for logos, and at times they even seemed indifferent to brands in general.” Rather than hoping that younger generations will rekindle their love affair with Abercrombie’s famous moose, what’s really helped the brand is the introduction of affordable lines like the Essentials, says Kanaga.

See now, buy now, wear now

Fast-fashion retailers are now the kings of the industry and, according to the analysts I spoke with, aren’t going anywhere anytime soon. Abercrombie is now playing catchup—and it’s working. “Heritage brands, after years of losing market share to the fast-fashion players, have learned how the fast-fashion brands do it, which is working on shorter lead times with lower sourcing costs and as a result of that they're able to better compete,” Kloppenburg says.