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 Abercrombie store onFifth Avenue, Manhattan | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | June 4, 1892; 133 years ago (1892-06-04) inManhattan, New York City, U.S. |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | , U.S. |
Number of locations | 854 (Feb. 2020)[1] |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people |
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| Products | |
| Revenue |  US$3.71 billion (2021) |
| US$355.18 million (2021) | |
| US$263.01 million (2021) | |
| Total assets |  US$2.93 billion (2021) |
Number of employees | 31,700 (Feb. 2024) |
| Divisions |
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| Website | abercrombie |
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (A&F) is an Americanlifestyle retailer, founded in 1892 which focuses on contemporary clothing targeting customers in their early 20s to mid 40s.[2] Headquartered inNew Albany, Ohio, the company operates four offshoot brands:Abercrombie Kids, Your Personal Best,[3]Hollister Co., andGilly Hicks[4] with 780+ company operated stores across its brands, as of Q4 2024.[5][1][4]
As one of the oldest American clothing brands, the company originally marketed high-end outdoor clothing, but by the early 1980s it had almost entirely changed its direction. In the 1990s, under the leadership of CEOMike Jeffries, Abercrombie & Fitch underwent a meteoric rise, focusing on "casual luxury" fashion and specifically "the good-looking, cool kids"[6]—using sophisticated sexualized advertising, prominently of fashion models in revealing outfits.[7]
The clothing company has since refocused itself successfully, targeting a more diverse range of customers in their early 20's to mid 40's.[8]
The Abercrombie Company was founded in 1892 in New York City byDavid T. Abercrombie as anoutfitter for the eliteoutdoorsman.Ezra Fitch—a wealthy lawyer, real estate developer, and devoted Abercrombie customer—bought a significant stake in the business in 1900.[9] 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.[9] The company was an elite outfitter of sporting and excursion goods, particularly noted for its expensive shotguns, fishing rods, fishing boats, and tents.[9] It outfittedTheodore Roosevelt's safari and AdmiralRichard E. Byrd's expedition to Antarctica.Ernest Hemingway was also a regular customer; the gun with which he committed suicide in 1961 was purchased from Abercrombie & Fitch.[10] Following Hemingway's death, his wife placed several of his guns onconsignment with the company.[11]
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 (equivalent to $145,743 in 2024) gold and onyx chess set. Cash flow problems forced the company to also cut its inventory of moderately priced products.[12]
In 1976, Abercrombie & Fitch filed forChapter 11 bankruptcy protection. In 1977, the company closed its New York flagship store atMadison Avenue and East 45th Street.[13]
While Abercrombie & Fitch went out of business during its bankruptcy, the brand survived: in 1978,Oshman's Sporting Goods, aHouston-based retail chain,[14] bought the defunct firm's name and mailing list for $1.5 million[15] (equivalent to $7 million in 2024).[16] 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 toLes Wexner's vehicleThe Limited (parent company of several retail clothing chains, includingVictoria's Secret). Under The Limited, which later rebranded itself asL Brands, A&F gradually shifted its focus to young adults, hiredMike Jeffries (CEO) in 1992, was in 1996 spun off as a separate,publicly traded company,[17][18] and eventually grew into one of the largest apparel firms in the United States.[19] partially by refocusing the brand on the teen customer.[20]
In 1998, the company launched a children'sproduct line, Abercrombie Kids, for 7-14 year olds. In 2000, A&F launched its Hollister Co. subsidiary, "a new concept focused on the optimistic, laidback California lifestyle".[21]
The company overhauled its merchandise mix and closed several underperforming stores.[22] Longtime CEOMichael Jeffries resigned in December 2014, after 22 years with the company.[23]Fran Horowitz took over as CEO in February 2017.[24]
To combat competition from more downscale fast-fashion rivals likeForever 21 andH&M, A&F announced light changes to its image. A&F pledged to reduce the level of its sexually charged style of advertising and instead focus more on customer service. A&F also changed the job title of store employees from "models" to "brand representatives", and allowed a less tightly controlled, more individualist dress code. Additionally, A&F declared that "brand representatives" would focus more on customer service (by offering to help serve customers), versus the past reputation of displaying aloofness toward them. In 2015, the company signaled that it would begin implementing these changes.[25] By that May, store models were no longer forced to wear Abercrombie-branded clothes.[25]
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."[26]
The company's headquarters (a.k.a. "The Home Office") is located outside Columbus, Ohio inNew Albany, Ohio, a small farm town that expanded into a wealthy community planned and developed by L Brands founderLes Wexner. 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.[27] In January 2017, A&F announced it was terminating 150 Home Office employees.[28]
The company also has a EMEA Home Office in London and a APAC Home Office in Shanghai.[29][30]
A&F was once known for its sophisticated racy marketing photography byBruce Weber.[31] It wasblack 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'sbrand image is heavily promoted as an international casual luxurylifestyle concept.[32] The company began cultivating a far more upscale image after the 2005 opening of its Fifth Avenue flagship store alongsidePrada 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 trademarkCasual Luxury[33] as a fictional dictionary term with multiple definitions such as "[using] the finestcashmere,pima cotton, and highest quality leather to create the ultimate in casual, body conscious clothing,"[34] and "implementing and/or incorporating time honored machinery ...to produce the most exclusive denim..."[34] 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.[35]
Following a lighter earnings announcement in August 2014,[36] A&F shifted its business strategy a degree to trendier styles and faster production processes, effectively embracing fast fashion while retaining its upmarket prestige in contrast to its competitors.[37]
In 2018, Abercrombie successfully shifted its target market to an older demographic to include not just younger adults but older adults as well.[8][38][39][40]
The company is noted for its use of "brand representatives" (aka "models") as in-store customer service staff.[25] Previously, the models were required to buy and wear only A&F clothing at work. However, after a 2003 settlement with California statelabor 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.[41] 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".[42]
Women's Wear Daily calls the company's clothing classically "neo-preppy", with an "edgy tone and imagery".[43]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 fromRuehl.
Its prices are recognized as the highest in the youth-clothing industry.[44] 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.[45] Indeed, as thelate-2000s recession continued, the company took a hit 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".[44] The company's year-to-year revenue, a key indicator of a retailer's health, rose 13% in September 2010.[46]
The company has carried men's fragrancesFierce,Colden, and has re-branded the original cologne Woods (Christmas Floorset 2010). Women's fragrances have included8,Perfume 41,Wakely, andPerfume #1. Fierce and 8 are the most heavily marketed fragrances, as they are the signature scents of the brand overall.[47]
In 2002, the company sold a shirt featuring the slogan "Wong Brothers Laundry Service – Two Wongs Can Make It White," with smiling figures inconical Asian hats, an offensive depiction of 19th centuryChinese immigrants to the U.S.[48] A&F discontinued the designs and apologized after a boycott started by aStanford University Asian American student group.[49] That same year, Abercrombie Kids removed a line ofthong 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.[50]
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 thatincestuous relationships are supposedly common in rural America.West Virginia GovernorBob Wise spoke out against the company for depicting "an unfounded, negativestereotype of West Virginia", but A&F did not remove the shirts.[51] 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 afterUSA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi announced a boycott for mocking the sport.[52]
In 2005, theWomen and Girls Foundation 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?" ("these" meaning breasts), "Available for parties," and "I had a nightmare I was abrunette." The campaign received national coverage onThe Today Show, and the company pulled the shirts from stores on November 5, 2005.[53] 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.[54]
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". TheAmerican Family Association disapproved of the influence of the "sex-as-recreation" lifestyle shirts, and asked the brand to remove its "sexualized shirts" from display.[55]
Because of extensivecounterfeiting of its products, the company launched abrand protection 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 formerFBI 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."[56]
In August 2011, the company offeredMike "The Situation" Sorrentino and other cast members of the MTV reality showJersey 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."[57] 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".[58] The case was dismissed in July 2013.[59]
In 2013, a 2006Salon interview with then-CEOMike Jeffries went viral, causing public backlash against A&F's marketing practices.[60][61][62] 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.[6][63]
That's why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that. ... In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.[63]
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 actorKirstie Alley brought them up in anEntertainment Tonight interview,[64] and prominent daytime talk-show hostEllen DeGeneres spoke out against the company.[65][66]
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 offended." 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."[67]
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 from certain flagship stores which had windows above street level. The company stated that the louvers were removed in an effort to experiment with window marketing.[68] 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 90decibels, and comparable to heavy construction machinery and harmful to the ears.[69]
The company operates 854 stores across all four brands. The company's brand has 278[70] locations in the United States, 5 in Canada (2 in Alberta, 2 in Ontario, and 1 in British Columbia). The company currently operates 70 full-line stores abroad and 10 outlet stores across 16 countries.
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".[71][72] After initially opening at a deliberately slow pace, the company began to accelerate international expansion for its namesake and itsHollister Co. brand in 2012.[73][74]
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 flagshipLondon store at7 Burlington Gardens,Savile Row.[75] Since then, the company has opened stores inMilan,Copenhagen,Paris,Madrid,Brussels,Dublin and other major cities in Europe, including six stores in Germany. The company opened its first Asian flagship store in Tokyo in 2009,[76] followed byFukuoka,Singapore,Hong Kong andSeoul.[77] The company would primarily focus on the Chinese and Japanese markets where luxury consumption is high.[78] The company has also entered a franchise agreement with Grupo AXO to open retail stores in Mexico by 2015.[79] In 2015, the company entered the Middle Eastern market with the opening of its flagship store in Kuwait.[80] 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.[81]
In November 2010, theSouthampton, England, store prevented 18-year-old Harriet Phipps from wearing aremembrance poppy, which is worn as part of theRemembrance Day 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.[82] 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."
In 2012, the company announced plans that it would open its Abercrombie Kids shop at No. 3 onSavile Row, next door toGieves & Hawkes.[83] 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 byThe Chap magazine on April 23, 2012.[84][85] During the consultation period, objections were lodged toWestminster City Council and in February 2013 the Council rejected many of the company's proposals for the store, and branded the entire plans "utterly unacceptable."[86][87] A&F appealed, managed to overcome the obstacles and opened the store in September 2014.[88] 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 in theGrade II-listed building were illegal.[89]
In an attempt to more effectively reach the brand's ideal "college-age" customer, the company tested two experimental campus stores in August 2018, both of which have since closed.[90]
The company has operated four concept brands apart from its namesake over the years; they have been referred to assubsidiaries, but operate as divisions under the company's umbrella.
The company has been involved in legal conflicts over its employment practices, rape and exploitation of employees, treatment of customers, and clothing styles.
In a 2004 lawsuitGonzález 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.[94] The company agreed to a settlement of theclass-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 whitefraternities and sororities, (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.[95][96][97]
In June 2009, British law student Riam Dean, who had worked at the company's flagship store in London'sSavile Row, took the company to anemployment tribunal. Dean, who was born without a left forearm, claimed that although she was initially given special permission to wear clothing that covered herprosthetic limb, she was soon told that her appearance breached the company's "Look Policy" and sent to work in the stockroom, out of sight of customers. Dean sued the company fordisability discrimination, and sought up to £20,000 in damages.[98] 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.[99][100]
In a lawsuit filed in September 2009,Equal Employment Opportunity Commission v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores,[101] in U.S. District Court by theU.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 theWoodland Hills Mall, located inTulsa, Oklahoma. The teenager, who wears ahijab in accordance with her religious beliefs, claims the manager told her the headscarf violates the store's "Look Policy".[102] TheUnited States Supreme Court agreed to hear the case on February 25, 2015,[103] and ruled 8–1 on June 1, 2015, against the company.[104]
In 2010, a Muslim woman working at a Hollister store inSan 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". TheCouncil on American-Islamic Relations has stated that the dismissal is a violation of non-discrimination laws, and filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.[105]
In 2011, the BelgianCentre for Equal Opportunities and Opposition to Racism 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.[106]
In November 2009, the company was added to the "Sweatshop Hall of Shame 2010" by the worker advocacy groupInternational Labor Rights Forum.[107]
In 2009, the company was fined more than $115,000 by theMinnesota Department of Human Rights for refusing to let a teenage girl help her sister, who hasautism, 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.[108]
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.[109]
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 a class members.[110] The company settled the case in 2016.[111]
In 2002, the company filed a lawsuit againstAmerican Eagle Outfitters, claiming that American Eagle copied the company's garment designs, among other things. The lawsuit was based on atrade-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.[112]
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,[113] and paid $6,050,000 for settlement.
During Mike Jeffries' tenure as CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch from 1992 to 2014, the company became synonymous with a hypersexualized and exclusionary brand image. Jeffries' marketing strategies, which emphasized "cool" and attractive youth, encouraged a corporate culture that has since been scrutinized for fostering discriminatory hiring practices and a sexually charged environment.
In 2023, allegations surfaced accusing Jeffries and his partner, Matthew Smith, of orchestrating an international sex trafficking ring between 2008 and 2015. The scheme reportedly involved luring young men, some of whom were Abercrombie employees or aspiring models, with promises of modeling opportunities, only to coerce them into sexual acts. Recruitment efforts allegedly utilized Abercrombie & Fitch email addresses, suggesting a potential overlap between the illicit activities and the company's operations.
Abercrombie & Fitch has publicly expressed being "horrified and disgusted" by the allegations against its former CEO and has stated that it had no knowledge of the alleged misconduct during Jeffries' leadership.[114][115][116]
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