Abercrombie and Fitch
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Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle retailer that focuses on casual wear. Its headquarters are in
New Albany, Ohio New Albany is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, located northeast of the state capital of Columbus. Most of the city is located in Franklin County and a small portion extends into adjacent Licking County. New Albany had a population of 10,825 ...
. The company operates three other offshoot brands:
Abercrombie Kids Abercrombie Kids (stylized as abercrombie kids) is a children's clothing brand owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, introduced in 1998. Targeting consumers aged 7–14, the concept is designed as the children's version of its parent company A&F. There ar ...
, Hollister Co., and
Gilly Hicks Gilly Hicks is a lingerie brand owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, specializing in women's intimates and loungewear. It competes primarily with Victoria's Secret, Victoria's Secret PINK, and aerie. Its first store opened at Natick Mall in Natick, M ...
. As of February 2020, the company operated 854 stores across all brands. Once known for its ad campaigns mostly featuring nearly-nude teen models behaving in sexually suggestive ways with each other, the company has toned down sexually charged imagery and no longer features scantily dressed models in its advertisements. According to then-Chairman Arthur Martinez (in 2016), these changes were implemented to show that the company is evolving with its consumers.


History

The original Abercrombie & Fitch was founded in 1892 in New York City by
David T. Abercrombie David Thomas Abercrombie (June 6, 1867 – August 29, 1931) was the founder of the American lifestyle brand Abercrombie & Fitch. A topographer and expert in the outdoors, Abercrombie opened the company as New York's outfitter for the elite ...
as an outfitter for the elite
outdoorsman Outdoor recreation or outdoor activity refers to recreation done outside, most commonly in natural settings. The activities that encompass outdoor recreation vary depending on the physical environment they are being carried out in. These activiti ...
. Ezra Fitch—a wealthy lawyer, real estate developer, and devoted Abercrombie customer—bought a significant stake in the business in 1900. In 1904, it was incorporated and renamed "Abercrombie & Fitch Co." Fitch eventually bought out Abercrombie's share of the business, becoming its sole owner from 1907 to 1928. The company was an elite outfitter of sporting and excursion goods, particularly noted for its expensive shotguns, fishing rods, fishing boats, and tents At one time, it had outfitted
Theodore Roosevelt Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
's safari and Adm.
Richard E. Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...
's expedition to Antarctica.
Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...
was also a regular customer; the gun with which he committed suicide in 1961 was purchased from Abercrombie and Fitch. Following Hemingway's death, his wife placed several of his guns on consignment with the company. By the 1970s, A&F was struggling to compete with lower priced competitors while trying to maintain its high-end image. It was known for holding an extensive inventory of lavish items, but high operating expenses forced A&F to shed its highest priced items, such as an $18,000 () gold and onyx chess set. Cash flow problems forced the company to also cut its inventory of moderately-priced products. In 1976, Abercrombie & Fitch filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In 1977, the company closed its New York flagship store at Madison Avenue and East 45th Street. While Abercrombie & Fitch went out of business during its bankruptcy, the brand survived: in 1978, Oshman's Sporting Goods, a
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 i ...
-based retail chain, bought the defunct firm's name and mailing list for $1.5 million"Why Abercrombie Is Losing Its Shirt"
'' New York''. Retrieved February 12, 2014.
(equivalent to $ million in ). Oshman's relaunched the company as a mail-order retailer specializing in hunting wear and novelty items. Retail stores were also opened in Beverly Hills, Dallas, and (by the mid-1980s) New York City. In 1988, Oshman's sold the brand and its operations to Columbus, Ohio-based
The Limited The Limited was an American clothing retailer that operated retail stores between the early 1960s and the late 2010s. After 2007, it became a brand, originally owned by the private equity firm Sun Capital Partners, now owned by another private equ ...
(parent company of several retail clothing chains, including
Victoria's Secret Victoria's Secret is an American lingerie, clothing, and beauty retailer known for high visibility marketing and branding, starting with a popular catalog and followed by an annual fashion show with supermodels dubbed Angels. As the largest ...
). Under The Limited (which later rebranded itself as L Brands), A&F gradually shifted its focus to young adults, was later spun off as a separate,
publicly traded company A public company is a company whose ownership is organized via shares of stock which are intended to be freely traded on a stock exchange or in over-the-counter markets. A public (publicly traded) company can be listed on a stock exchange (list ...
, and eventually grew into one of the largest apparel firms in the United States. Since 1997, A&F has kept a high profile in ways both positive (ads, brand expansions, philanthropy) and problematic (legal conflicts, boycotts, ads, clothing style controversies, employment practices). Mike Jeffries became CEO in the 1990s and refocused the brand on the teen customer. In 1998, the company built on its success by launching a children's product line, Abercrombie Kids, for 7-14 year olds. By 1999, A&F was more popular than ever. In 2000, A&F launched its Hollister Co. subsidiary, "a new concept focused on the optimistic, laidback California lifestyle". A&F encountered headwinds again in the first decade of the 21st century, when the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
battered the company's business as teenagers turned to high-style/low-price " fast fashion" brands like H&M and Forever 21 for their clothing.


2007–present

The company's stock price dropped from an all-time high of $84.23 in October 2007, to a low of $14.64 in November 2008. The company overhauled its merchandise mix and closed underperforming stores; however, lackluster financial performance has continued. Longtime CEO Michael Jeffries resigned in December 2014, after 22 years with the company.
Fran Horowitz Fran Horowitz-Bonadies is an American businesswoman. She is the CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., a position she has held since her appointment in February 2017 following the ouster of Mike Jeffries. Early life and education Horowitz attended h ...
took over as CEO in February 2017. To combat heavy competition from fast-fashion rivals like Forever 21 and H&M, A&F announced key changes to its image. A&F pledged to reduce the sexually charged style of its advertising and instead focus more on customer service and diversity in staffing. Among the changes announced were the elimination of its iconic-yet-controversial sexualized marketing, no longer having groups of shirtless male models at new store openings, and eliminating sexualized imagery on bags, gift cards, and stores fixtures. A&F also changed the job title of store employees from "models" to "brand representatives", and allowed a less tightly controlled, more individualistic dress code. Additionally, A&F declared that "brand representatives" would focus more on customer service (by offering to help serve customers), versus the past policy of displaying aloofness toward them. They also aimed to promote more diversity among store employees and executives. In 2015, the company signaled that it would be implementing changes quickly. By that May, the changes were apparent in stores. All "permanent marketing" images at the cash wrap and fitting rooms were removed, and store models were no longer dressed in Abercrombie-branded clothes. According to recent reports from Q1 2021, it was the "group’s best second-quarter operating income and margin since 2008, with sales exceeding pre- pandemic levels." In April 2022,
Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
released a documentary entitled, '' White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch'' directed by
Alison Klayman Alison Klayman (born 1984) is an American filmmaker and journalist best known for her award-winning 2012 documentary '' Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry''. Life and career Klayman grew up in Philadelphia and graduated from Brown University in 2006 wi ...
. The documentary explores the reign of Abercrombie & Fitch in the late 1990s and early 2000s, discussing its past transgressions and exclusionary practices.


Market value

In April 2017, the company was described by Standard & Poor's as having a market value of $650 million and about $420 million cash on hand. In May 2017, the company was in talks to sell itself. Potential buyers included rivals Express (a fellow former L Brands subsidiary) and
American Eagle Outfitters American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., also known as American Eagle, is an American lifestyle, clothing, and accessories retailer headquartered at SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by brothers Jerry and Mark Silverma ...
, and
private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...
firm
Cerberus Capital Management Cerberus Capital Management, L.P. is an American private equity firm,Leaders Magazine"Providing Economic Opportunity: An Interview with The Honorable Dan Quayle, Chairman, Cerberus Global Investments, LLC". specializing in distressed investing. ...
. However, negotiations failed by early July, contributing to a 21% drop in A&F's stock price.


Headquarters

The company's headquarters (aka "The Home Office") is located outside Columbus, Ohio in
New Albany, Ohio New Albany is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio, located northeast of the state capital of Columbus. Most of the city is located in Franklin County and a small portion extends into adjacent Licking County. New Albany had a population of 10,825 ...
(a wealthy community planned and built by L Brands founder Leslie "Les" Wexner)."Abercrombie & Fitch Careers, Home Office"
. Abercrombie & Fitch.
The Home Office was designed as a campus and internally referred to as such, sitting on 350-acres and consisting of 11 two-story buildings (some connected by skybridge). The company's two merchandise distribution centers (1 million square feet each) are located on campus to help ensure brand protection. Also on campus are model stores, one for each of the company's brands, where store layouts, merchandising and atmosphere are developed and tested. In January 2017, A&F announced it was terminating 150 Home Office employees. The company also has a European office in
Mendrisio Mendrisio (; lmo, label= Ticinese, Mendris ) is a municipality in the district of Mendrisio in the canton of Ticino in Switzerland. Mendrisio is the seat of the Accademia di Architettura of the university of Italian-speaking Switzerland (U ...
, Switzerland.


Marketing, advertising and brand identity

A&F was once known for its racy marketing photography by Bruce Weber. It was black and white and set outdoors, usually with partially nude males and females for an increased tone of sexuality. The company promotes its casting sessions, models, and photo shoots in the "A&F Casting" feature on its website. The website also provides a gallery of current photography. Framed copies at company stores will sometimes name the model and store. The company's
brand image A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
is heavily promoted as an international near-luxury lifestyle concept. The company began cultivating an upscale image after the 2005 opening of its Fifth Avenue flagship store alongside Prada and other upscale retailers. Having for years used high-grade materials in the manufacture of its merchandise, and pricing them at "near-luxury" levels, the company introduced the trademark ''Casual Luxury'' as a fictional dictionary term with multiple definitions such as "
sing Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...
the finest cashmere,
pima cotton ''Gossypium barbadense'' (''gos-SIP-pee-um bar-ba-DEN-see'') is one of several species of cotton. It is in the mallow family. It has been cultivated since antiquity, but has been especially prized since a form with particularly long fibers was ...
s, and highest quality leather to create the ultimate in casual, body conscious clothing,"Casual Luxury image from abercrombie.com, Christmas 2006. and "implementing and/or incorporating time honored machinery ...to produce the most exclusive denim..." This upscale image has allowed it to open stores in international high-end locations and further promote the image by pricing its merchandise at almost double the American prices. Echoing the entertainment-based, high-class-aspirational approach L Brands' Les Wexner used to fuel the 1980s-2010s growth of Victoria's Secret, Abercrombie CEO Mike Jeffries has called A&F's brand image a "movie" because of the "fantasy" that plays out in-store. Following a dismal earnings announcement in August 2014, A&F ended its logo-branded apparel line, arguing that element of its brand no longer resonated with its target market. A&F also shifted its business strategy to trendier styles and faster production processes, effectively embracing fast fashion. Some experts argue the retailer's focus on class-driven exclusivity caused it to fall out of favor with its target market. In 2018, Abercrombie shifted its target market to an older demographic (ages 21–24). Since 2018, Abercrombie has closed many of its larger flagship locations to open smaller, brighter-colored new stores designed to keep customers interested amid the rise of e-commerce rivals.


Store staff

The company is noted for its use of "brand representatives" (fka "models") as in-store customer service staff. Previously, the models were required to buy and wear only A&F clothing at work. However, after a 2003 settlement with California state labor regulators, A&F allowed brand reps to wear any logo-free clothing, as long as it corresponded with the season and A&F's style. The California settlement also provided $2.2 million to reimburse former employees for their forced purchases of company-branded clothing. An "Impact Team" was created in 2004 to control merchandise within each store and strictly maintain and enforce company standards. Bigger and higher volume stores have a "Full Time Stock" who trains Impact associates, processes shipments, maintains stock room standards, and can even act as a manager if the store is short on management staff. Stores' general manager and assistant managers are responsible for forms, lighting, photo marketing, fragrance presentations, and ensuring brand reps comply with the company's "look policy".


Products

''
Women's Wear Daily ''Women's Wear Daily'' (also known as ''WWD'') is a fashion-industry trade journal often referred to as the "Bible of fashion". Horyn, Cathy"Breaking Fashion News With a Provocative Edge" ''The New York Times''. (August 20, 1999). It provides inf ...
'' calls the company's clothing classically "neo-preppy", with an "edgy tone and imagery". The company's fashions have a reputation for luxury, with the majority of designs trend-driven. There is heavy promotion of "Premium Jeans". In early 2010, the company introduced a leather handbag collection inspired by designs from Ruehl. Its prices are recognized as the highest in the youth-clothing industry. Internationally, prices are almost double those in American stores. Retail analyst Chris Boring warns that the company's brands are a "little more susceptible" should recession hit, because their specialties are premium-priced goods rather than necessities. Indeed, as the late-2000s recession continued, the company noticeably suffered financially for its refusal to lower prices or offer discounts. It argued that doing so would "cheapen" its near-luxury image. Analyst Bruce Watson warned that the company risked finding itself transformed into "a cautionary tale of a store that was left by the wayside when it declined to change with the times". The company's year-to-year revenue, a key indicator of a retailer's health, rose 13% in September 2010, aided by strong international sales. The company has carried men's fragrances '' Fierce'', ''Colden'', and has re-branded the original cologne Woods (Christmas Floorset 2010). Women's fragrances have included ''8'', ''Perfume 41'', ''Wakely'', and ''Perfume #1''. Fierce and 8 are the most heavily marketed fragrances, as they are the signature scents of the brand overall.


Product criticism

In 2002, the company sold a shirt featuring the slogan "Wong Brothers Laundry ServiceTwo Wongs Can Make It White," with smiling figures in
conical Asian hat A cone is a three-dimensional geometric shape that tapers smoothly from a flat base (frequently, though not necessarily, circular) to a point called the apex or vertex. A cone is formed by a set of line segments, half-lines, or lines co ...
s—a racist depiction of 1800s
Chinese immigrants Overseas Chinese () refers to people of Chinese birth or ethnicity who reside outside Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan. As of 2011, there were over 40.3 million overseas Chinese. Terminology () or ''Hoan-kheh'' () in Hokkien, ref ...
to the U.S. A&F discontinued the designs and apologized after a boycott started by a Stanford University Asian American student group. That same year, Abercrombie Kids removed a line of
thong The thong is a garment generally used as either underwear or in some countries, as a swimsuit. It may also be worn for traditional ceremonies or competitions. Viewed from the front, the thong typically resembles a bikini bottom, but at the ...
underwear sold for girls in pre-teen children's sizes after parents mounted nationwide storefront protests. The underwear included phrases like "Eye Candy" and "Wink Wink" printed on the front. More T-shirt controversies occurred in 2004. The first incident involved a shirt featuring the phrase, "It's All Relative in West Virginia," playing on the trope that
incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adopti ...
uous relationships are supposedly common in rural America.
West Virginia Governor The governor of West Virginia is the head of government of West VirginiaWV Constitution article VII, § 5. and the commander-in-chief of the U.S. state, state's West Virginia National Guard, military forces.WV Constitution article VII, § 12. Th ...
Bob Wise Robert Ellsworth Wise Jr. (born January 6, 1948) is an American politician who served as the 33rd Governor of West Virginia from 2001 to 2005. A member of the Democratic Party, Wise also served in the United States House of Representatives fro ...
spoke out against the company for depicting "an unfounded, negative stereotype of West Virginia", but A&F did not remove the shirts. Later, another T-shirt that read "L is for Loser" next to a picture of a male gymnast (implying that male participation in female-dominated sporting activities makes such males less "masculine") gathered publicity. A&F stopped selling the shirt in October 2004 after
USA Gymnastics United States of America Gymnastics (USA Gymnastics or USAG) is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. Established in 1963 as the U.S. Gymnastics Federation (USGF), USA Gymnastics is responsible for selecting and train ...
president Bob Colarossi announced a boycott for mocking the sport. In 2005, the
Women and Girls Foundation The Women and Girls Foundation (WGF) is an independent, community-based non-profit organization serving 11 counties in the southwestern part of Pennsylvania. It was founded in 2002. The stated goal of the foundation is to achieve equality for women ...
of Southwest Pennsylvania launched a " Girlcott" of the store to protest the sale of T-shirts displaying messages such as "Who needs brains when you have these?", "Available for parties," and "I had a nightmare I was a
brunette Brown hair, also referred to as brunet (male) or brunette (female), is the second most common human hair color, after black hair. It varies from light brown to a medium dark hair. It is characterized by higher levels of the dark pigment eume ...
." The campaign received national coverage on ''
The Today Show ''Today'' (also called ''The Today Show'' or informally, ''NBC News Today'') is an American news and talk morning television show that airs weekdays from 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. on NBC. The program debuted on January 14, 1952. It ...
'', and the company pulled the shirts from stores on November 5, 2005. Five days after this media coverage, the company pulled two of the shirts from its shelves, released an apology to girls for producing the T-shirts, and agreed to have corporate executives meet with the "Girlcott" girls at the company's headquarters.
Bob Jones University , motto_lang = Latin , mottoeng = We seek, we trust , top_free_label = , top_free = , type = Private university , established = , closed = , f ...
, a private,
Protestant Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
university in Greenville, South Carolina, its affiliated pre-collegiate schools, and some other Christian colleges, banned A&F (and Hollister) clothing from being "worn, carried, or displayed" on its campuses because of "an unusual degree of antagonism to the name of Christ and an unusual display of wickedness" in the company's promotions. After the company raised its prices in 2004, its products have been described as overpriced. A T-shirt controversy arose again over the company's Back-to-School 2009 collection of "humor tees". One shirt proclaims "Show the twins" above a picture of a young woman with her blouse open to two men. Two other shirts state "Female streaking encouraged" and "Female Students Wanted for Sexual Research". The American Family Association disapproved of the influence of the "sex-as-recreation" lifestyle shirts, and asked the brand to remove its "sexualized shirts" from display.


Brand protection

Because of extensive counterfeiting of its products, the company launched a
brand protection Brand protection is the process and set of actions that a right holder undertakes to prevent third parties from using its intellectual property without permission, as this may cause loss of revenue and, usually more importantly, destroys brand eq ...
program in 2006 to combat the problem worldwide (focusing more on China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea) by working with law enforcement globally. The program is headed by a former
FBI The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
Supervisory Special Agent who was part of the FBI's Intellectual Property Rights program, and covers all the company's brands. The company says that the program "will improve current practices and strategies by focusing on eliminating the supply of illicit Abercrombie & Fitch products." In August 2011, the company offered Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino and other cast members of the MTV reality show '' Jersey Shore'' a "substantial payment" if they stopped wearing Abercrombie-branded clothes, stating "We are deeply concerned that Mr. Sorrentino's association with our brand could cause significant damage to our image." In November 2011, Sorrentino filed a lawsuit against the company after it allegedly violated his copyrights in making shirts that said "The Fitchuation" and "GTL...You Know The Deal". The case was dismissed in July 2013.


Jeffries' 2006 target demographic quote

In 2013, a 2006 '' Salon'' interview with then-CEO Mike Jeffries went viral, causing public backlash against A&F's marketing practices. Jeffries comments – that his brand is only suitable for "the good-looking, cool kids," and that there are people who do not belong in his clothes, namely, overweight people – came under fire. These quotes, which were the basis for the article's "youth, sex and casual superiority" headline, went largely unnoticed when the article was published in 2006, until they resurfaced in May 2013 after actor Kirstie Alley brought them up in an '' Entertainment Tonight'' interview, and prominent daytime talk-show host
Ellen DeGeneres Ellen Lee DeGeneres ( ; born January 26, 1958) is an American comedian, television host, actress, writer, and producer. She starred in the sitcom ''Ellen'' from 1994 to 1998, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for " The Puppy Episode". Sh ...
spoke out against the company. Jeffries issued an official statement on May 17, 2013, regarding the news articles, saying, "I want to address some of my comments that have been circulating from a 2006 interview. While I believe this seven-year-old, resurrected quote has been taken out of context, I sincerely regret that my choice of words was interpreted in a manner that has caused offense." He also stated, "We are completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterizations or other anti-social behavior based on race, gender, body type or other individual characteristics."


Stores

The exterior of the contemporary store design features white molding and formerly black louvers. From 2013 to 2014, the louvers were removed from all locations except flagship stores. The company stated that the louvers were removed in an effort to eliminate the exclusive atmosphere from stores and to experiment with window marketing. The currently featured marketing image directly faces the entrance. The interior is lit with dim ceiling lights and spot lighting. Electronic dance music meant to create an upbeat atmosphere may be played at sound levels as high as 90 decibels, exceeding the corporate policy of 84 decibels and comparable to heavy construction machinery and harmful to the ears. The company operates 1,049 stores across all four brands. The company's brand has 278 locations in the United States, 5 in Canada (2 in Alberta, 2 in Ontario, and 1 in British Columbia). The company currently operates 25 full-line stores and 4 outlet stores across 16 countries.


International expansion

The company's brand is believed to have reached its maximum growth potential in the American market. International expansion began in 2005, with the long-term goal of opening flagships for A&F (and eventually all its brands), in high-profile locations worldwide "at a deliberate pace". After initially opening at a deliberately slow pace, the company began to accelerate international expansion for its namesake and its Hollister Co. brand in 2012. The company's first non-U.S. stores opened in Toronto and Edmonton in 2005, and then expanded to other major cities in Canada. The company first entered the European market in 2007 with the opening of its flagship
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
store at 7 Burlington Gardens,
Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
. Since then, the company has opened stores in
Milan Milan ( , , Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 million, while its metropolitan city h ...
,
Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...
,
Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...
,
Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
,
Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

now closed
and other major cities in Europe, including six stores in Germany. The company opened its first Asian flagship store in Tokyo in 2009, followed by
Fukuoka is the sixth-largest city in Japan, the second-largest port city after Yokohama, and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since anc ...
,
Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
,
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
and
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
. The company would primarily focus on the Chinese and Japanese markets where luxury consumption is high. The company has also entered a franchise agreement with Grupo AXO to open retail stores in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
by 2015. In 2015, the company entered the Middle Eastern market with the opening of its flagship store in Kuwait. Since then the company has opened locations in Dubai and plans to expand deeper into the Middle East with stores in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and Oman.


Remembrance poppy prohibition in the UK

In November 2010, the
Southampton, England Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Por ...
, store prevented 18-year-old Harriet Phipps from wearing a
remembrance poppy A remembrance poppy is an artificial flower worn in some countries to commemorate their military personnel who died in war. Remembrance poppies are produced by veterans' associations, who exchange the poppies for charitable donations used to g ...
, which is worn as part of the
Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces members who have died in t ...
commemorations in the United Kingdom and Canada every November. The official reason for the refusal was reported to be that the poppy is not considered part of the corporate approved uniform, and is therefore prohibited. The ban drew criticisms, and on November 8 the company posted on its Facebook page the following statement: "As an American company that has been around since 1892, we appreciate the sacrifices of the British and American servicemen/women in the World Wars and in military conflicts that continue today. Our company policy is to allow associates to wear a poppy as a token of this appreciation on Remembrance Day. Going forward, ...we will revisit this policy to the days/weeks leading up to Remembrance Day."


Abercrombie Kids shop on Savile Row

In 2012, the company announced plans that it would open its Abercrombie Kids shop at No. 3 on
Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
, next door to Gieves & Hawkes. The plans drew criticism and opposition from the tailors of the Row, who were already unhappy about the presence of its main store on Burlington Gardens at the end of the Row to begin with. This eventually led to a protest organized by ''
The Chap ''The Chap'' is a British humorous men's lifestyle magazine published quarterly. It was founded in 1999 by Gustav Temple and Vic Darkwood, and is still edited by Temple. The magazine proposes that men everywhere return to a more gentlemanly wa ...
'' magazine on April 23, 2012. During the consultation period, objections were lodged to
Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...
and in February 2013 the Council rejected many of the company's proposals for the store, and branded the entire plans "utterly unacceptable." A&F appealed, managed to overcome the obstacles and opened the store in September 2014. The following year, the company was subject to nearly £16,000 in fines and legal costs when it was ruled that changes it had made to the
Grade II-listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...
building were illegal.


Abercrombie opens college campus stores

In an attempt to more effectively reach the brand's ideal "college-age" customer, the company opened two campus stores in August 2018, both of which have since closed.


Brands

The company has operated four concept brands apart from its namesake over the years; they have been referred to as subsidiaries, but operate as divisions under the company's umbrella. ;
Abercrombie Kids Abercrombie Kids (stylized as abercrombie kids) is a children's clothing brand owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, introduced in 1998. Targeting consumers aged 7–14, the concept is designed as the children's version of its parent company A&F. There ar ...
: ''Prep-school by Abercrombie & Fitch'' Themed as "classic cool" for kids 7 through 14, this is the children's version of Abercrombie & Fitch. ; Hollister Co.: ''Southern California by Abercrombie & Fitch'' Themed after "
SoCal Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban ag ...
" for teenagers 14 through 18, with significantly lower prices than its parent brand. ;
Gilly Hicks Gilly Hicks is a lingerie brand owned by Abercrombie & Fitch, specializing in women's intimates and loungewear. It competes primarily with Victoria's Secret, Victoria's Secret PINK, and aerie. Its first store opened at Natick Mall in Natick, M ...
: ''The cheeky cousin of Abercrombie & Fitch'' Themed after "
Down Under The term ''Down Under'' is a colloquialism which is differently construed to refer to Australia and New Zealand, or Pacific Island countries collectively.Oxford English Dictionary (Electronic), Version 4.0, entry fordown under. The dictionary r ...
" Sydney, offers underwear, loungewear and activewear for women 18 and up. Currently sold primarily within Hollister Co. stores and e-commerce channels with a small number of individual store locations. ; Ruehl No.925: ''Post-Grad by Abercrombie & Fitch'' Themed after a fictional
Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...
heritage, offered clothes for 22 through 35 post-grads. Closed in 2010. ;Social Tourist: “Social Tourist is the creative vision of Hollister, the teen brand liberating the spirit of an endless summer, and social media personalities Charli and Dixie D’Amelio. The lifestyle brand creates trend forward apparel that allows teens to experiment with their style, while exploring the duality of who they are both on social media and in real life.“


Legal issues

The company has been involved in legal conflicts over its employment practices, treatment of customers, and clothing styles.


Employment practices

In a 2004 lawsuit '' González v. Abercrombie & Fitch'', the company was accused of discriminating against African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and women by preferentially offering floor sales positions (called Brand Representatives before the settlement and Models after) and store management positions to Caucasian males. The company agreed to a settlement of the
class-action A class action, also known as a class-action lawsuit, class suit, or representative action, is a type of lawsuit where one of the parties is a group of people who are represented collectively by a member or members of that group. The class action ...
suit, which required the company to (1) pay $40 million to African Americans, Latinos, Asian Americans, and women who applied and were not hired or worked in certain store positions, (2) revise its hiring, performance measurement, and promotion policies, (3) revise its internal complaint procedures, (4) appoint a Vice President of Diversity, (5) hire 25 recruiters to seek out minority applicants, (6) discontinue the practice of recruiting employees at primarily white
fraternities and sororities Fraternities and sororities are social organizations at colleges and universities in North America. Generally, membership in a fraternity or sorority is obtained as an undergraduate student, but continues thereafter for life. Some accept gradu ...
, (7) include more minorities in marketing materials, (8) report to a neutral court-appointed monitor twice per year regarding its progress in those areas, and (9) report to the court once per year."National Clothing Retailer Must Pay For Discrimination" ''The Defender''. Winter 2005, 1. A publication of the NAACP LDF. Description of the settlement of ''Gonzalez''. In June 2009, British law student Riam Dean, who had worked at the company's flagship store in London's
Savile Row Savile Row (pronounced ) is a street in Mayfair, central London. Known principally for its traditional bespoke tailoring for men, the street has had a varied history that has included accommodating the headquarters of the Royal Geographical ...
, took the company to an
employment tribunal Employment tribunals are tribunal public bodies in England and Wales and Scotland which have statutory jurisdiction to hear many kinds of disputes between employers and employees. The most common disputes are concerned with unfair dismissal, red ...
. Dean, who was born without a left forearm, claimed that although she was initially given special permission to wear clothing that covered her
prosthetic limb In medicine, a prosthesis (plural: prostheses; from grc, πρόσθεσις, prósthesis, addition, application, attachment), or a prosthetic implant, is an artificial device that replaces a missing body part, which may be lost through trau ...
, she was soon told that her appearance breached the company's "Look Policy" and sent to work in the stock room, out of sight of customers. Dean sued the company for
disability discrimination Ableism (; also known as ablism, disablism (British English), anapirophobia, anapirism, and disability discrimination) is discrimination and social prejudice against people with disabilities or who are perceived to be disabled. Ableism characteri ...
, and sought up to £20,000 in damages. In August 2009, the tribunal ruled the 22-year-old was wrongfully dismissed and unlawfully harassed. She was awarded £8,013 for loss of earnings and wrongful dismissal. In a lawsuit filed in September 2009, '' Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores'', in U.S. District Court by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 17-year-old Samantha Elauf said she applied, in June 2008, for a sales position at the Abercrombie Kids store in the Woodland Hills Mall, located in
Tulsa Tulsa () is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 47th-most populous city in the United States. The population was 413,066 as of the 2020 census. It is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with ...
, Oklahoma. The teenager, who wears a hijab in accordance with her religious beliefs, claims the manager told her the headscarf violates the store's "Look Policy". The
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
agreed to hear the case on February 25, 2015, and ruled 8–1 on June 1, 2015, against the company. In 2010, a Muslim woman working at a Hollister store in San Mateo, California, was fired. Before being dismissed, Hani Khan had refused Abercrombie & Fitch's human-resources representative's demand that she remove her hijab. The representative reportedly stated that the headscarf, which Khan wears for religious reasons, violated the company's "Look Policy". The
Council on American-Islamic Relations A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...
has stated that the dismissal is a violation of nondiscrimination laws, and filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. In 2011, the Belgian
Centre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism Unia or the Interfederal Center for Equal Opportunities (Dutch language, Dutch: , French language, French: :fr:Unia_(institution), Unia (institution) ''Centre pour l'égalité des chances et la lutte contre le racisme'' ) is an independent public ...
started an investigation into the company's hiring and remuneration policies. The firm was suspected of only hiring personnel under 25 years old, making heavy demands on the physical appearance of its staff and rewarding a premium to male models that work shirtless. In November 2009, the company was added to the "
Sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...
Hall of Shame 2010" by the worker advocacy group International Labor Rights Forum.


Customer issues

In 2009, the company was fined more than $115,000 by the Minnesota Department of Human Rights for refusing to let a teenage girl help her sister, who has autism, try on clothes in a fitting room. The amount of the fine reflected "pushback" by the company according to Michael K. Browne, the legal affairs manager of the Minnesota Department of Human Rights. A 16-year-old sued the company after discovering that she was being videotaped in a changing room by an employee, Kenneth Applegate II. Applegate denied the claim, but co-workers discovered his camera days later with the video on it. In 2010, a customer filed a class action relating to a 2009 holiday gift card promotion. The lawsuit alleges that the gift cards said "No Expiration Date" but Abercrombie voided and expired the gift cards in early 2010. In 2012, a judge certified a nationwide class in the case. In May 2013, Class Notice went out to potential class members.


Lawsuits against other parties

In 2002, the company filed a lawsuit against
American Eagle Outfitters American Eagle Outfitters, Inc., also known as American Eagle, is an American lifestyle, clothing, and accessories retailer headquartered at SouthSide Works in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1977 by brothers Jerry and Mark Silverma ...
, claiming that American Eagle copied the company's garment designs, among other things. The lawsuit was based on a trade-dress claim, stating that American Eagle had very closely mimicked the company's products' visual appearance and packaging. Specifically, it claimed that American Eagle copied particular articles of clothing, in-store displays and advertisements, and even its product catalog. Despite the admission that American Eagle might have utilized very similar materials, designs, in-store displays, symbols, color combinations, and patterns as A&F, the court ruled that there was not an excessive level of similarity to confuse potential customers, and therefore the court ruled in favor of American Eagle. On October 18, 1999, the company had a lawsuit about making false and misleading statements concerning its growth while knowing the actual growth was less than Wall Street expectations, and paid $6,050,000 for settlement.


Privacy concerns

In February 2019,
TechCrunch TechCrunch is an American online newspaper focusing on high tech and startup companies. It was founded in June 2005 by Archimedes Ventures, led by partners Michael Arrington and Keith Teare. In 2010, AOL acquired the company for approximately $ ...
reported that the Abercrombie & Fitch mobile app in the
iOS App Store The App Store is an app store platform, developed and maintained by Apple Inc., for mobile apps on its iOS and iPadOS operating systems. The store allows users to browse and download approved apps developed within Apple's iOS Software Deve ...
was using
session-replay Session replay is the ability to replay a visitor's journey on a web site or within a mobile application or web application. Replay can include the user's view (browser or screen output), user input (keyboard and mouse inputs), and logs of netwo ...
functionality to record users' activities and send the data to Israeli firm
Glassbox Glassbox is an Israeli software company. It sells session-replay analytics software and services. History As of October 2018, Glassbox had raised US$32.5 million of capital funding. In exchange for investing in Glassbox, Washington, DC, equity f ...
without the users' informed consent, compromising users' privacy and contravening the rules of the iOS App Store.


See also

*
Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange (A) A {, style="background:transparent;" !Stock name !Symbol !Country of origin , ---- , A. O. Smith Corporation , , US , ---- , A10 Networks, Inc. , , US , ---- , AAC Holdings Inc. , , US , ---- , AAR Corporation , , US , ---- , Aaron's Inc. ...
* List of S&P 600 companies *
Lifestyle brand A lifestyle brand is a brand that attempts to embody the values, aspirations, interests, attitudes, or opinions of a group or a culture for marketing purposes.page 16 Lifestyle brands seek to inspire, guide, and motivate people, with the goal of ...
*
Retail apocalypse A retail apocalypse is the closing of numerous brick-and-mortar retail stores, especially those of large chains worldwide. It began around 2010, and was severely exacerbated by the mandatory closures during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2017, over ...
*
List of retailers affected by the retail apocalypse The following retailers have all either closed or announced plans to close large numbers of retail locations, since 2010, during a time period labelled a "retail apocalypse" by media, accelerated by both the increase in online shopping and then by ...


References


Further reading

*
Pdf.


External links

* *
Abercrombie & Fitch SEC Filings
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abercrombie and Fitch Abercrombie & Fitch brands Clothing brands of the United States Clothing retailers of the United States Underwear brands American companies established in 1892 Clothing companies established in 1892 Retail companies established in 1892 1892 establishments in New York (state) Companies that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1976 Companies based in the Columbus, Ohio metropolitan area Re-established companies 1990s fashion 2000s fashion 2010s fashion 2020s fashion Companies listed on the New York Stock Exchange 1988 mergers and acquisitions 1996 initial public offerings