|
|
|
|
Abercrombie & Fitch
|
| |
|
| |
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American clothing retailer encompassing five brands: The namesake flagship Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister Co., RUEHL No. 925, and Gilly Hicks. Stores operate in the United States, Canada,the United Kingdom,Tokyo and Dublin.
Founded on 4 June 1892 by David T. Abercrombie, A&F had been an outfitter of sporting and excursion goods. It struggled financially from the late 1960s until it was purchased by The Limited in 1988 and repositioned, under the management of Michael S.
Discussion
Ask a question about 'Abercrombie & Fitch' Start a new discussion about 'Abercrombie & Fitch' Answer questions from other users |
Encyclopedia
Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) is an American clothing retailer encompassing five brands: The namesake flagship Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister Co., RUEHL No. 925, and Gilly Hicks. Stores operate in the United States, Canada,the United Kingdom,Tokyo and Dublin.
Founded on 4 June 1892 by David T. Abercrombie, A&F had been an outfitter of sporting and excursion goods. It struggled financially from the late 1960s until it was purchased by The Limited in 1988 and repositioned, under the management of Michael S. Jeffries (current Chairman & CEO), as the "Casual Luxury" lifestyle brand in present day.
Prominent figures who patronized the company in its excursion goods days include Teddy Roosevelt, Amelia Earhart, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, John Steinbeck,, John F. Kennedy, Ernest Shackleton, and Dwight Eisenhower.
History
Abercrombie & Fitch was established in 1892 by David Abercrombie as Abercrombie Co. Abercrombie was joined by Ezra Fitch in 1900 and the company officially became Abercrombie & Fitch Co. After financial troubles in the 1960s and 1970s, it was acquired by The Limited. Mike Jeffires took over the company and repositioned it as an aspirational youth apparel retailer. Controversies followed with the subsequent publication of A&F Quarterly.
In recent times, A&F has been gaining further financial success. The company launched four brands in a period of ten years and has begun to expand on an international basis across various world markets.
Management and marketing
Corporate officials
The following are the top corporate officials of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
- Michael S. Jeffries - Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Jefferies has held this position since the 1990s. He has renovated the brand and oversees all aspects of the company.
- Diane Chang - Executive Vice President of Sourcing
- Leslee K. Herro - Executive Vice President of Planning and Allocation
- David S. Cupps - Senior Vice President, Sec. and General Counsel
- Thomas D. Lennox - Head of Corporate Communications
- Jonathan E. Ramsden - Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
Stores
The modern Canoe store design features white molding and louvers on the exterior. The main marketing image lies against the front wall facing the entrance.The interiors are highlighted with dim ceiling-lights and spot lighting. Distinguishable aspects are the lingering scent of Fierce, an A&F fragrance, and the blasting electronic dance music. An undercover inspection which measured the noise levels in teen stores in a randomly selected mall, revealed that the noise level in Hollister, Abercrombie & Fitch, and Abercrombie kids stores was as loud as 90 decibels, comparable to heavy construction machinery noise and harmful to the ears. However, 80 decibels is the corporate store policy sound level.
There are a few remaining chain store design which feature plaid carpeting and preppy wallpaper. The company operates 1,059 stores across all five brands. The A&F brand holds over 353 locations nationwide the United States, three in Canada, and one in London. Three flagship stores are located on Fifth Avenue in New York City, within the The Grove in Los Angeles, and at 7 Burlington Gardens in London.
Employment
The company uses brand representatives, now called "models", for customer service within the stores. The representatives have been required to buy and wear only Abercrombie & Fitch apparel but now they can wear any no logo clothing as long as it is grey, navy, or white. They must wear either abercrombie jeans or no logo jeans. The "Impact Team" was created in 2004 to control merchandise within each store and maintain company standards. "Visual managers" are responsible for standardizing the store visually. Forms, lighting, photo marketing, fragrance presentations and brand representatives complying with the "look policy" are key aspects of the position.
Lawsuits have been placed against the company in the past years due to discriminatory employment practices. In 2004, the company was involved in a lawsuit, Gonzalez vs. Abercrombie & Fitch (see Controversy and Criticism below), for giving desirable positions to white applicants. After settling out of court, the company established a branch to seek minority employees.
Advertising
The official logo of Abercrombie & Fitch is the gray moose. The company markets through its sensual photographs with a beach, architectural, or mountainous backdrop in grayscale. The photographer of the advertisements is Bruce Weber, who is known for his sexual photography for Calvin Klein and Polo Ralph Lauren. Models and the photos pertaining to them were previewed seasonally on "A&F New Faces", a previous feature on the official website. After only featuring select photography, it was renamed "Photo Gallery." "A&F Casting" was introduced in place of "A&F New Faces" to advertise and to give information on being cast for marketing campaigns. The company only casts "brand reps" (store associates) for campaigns. They use especially good-looking models to attract young women to buy their clothes.
Merchandise and brand protection
The company uses trademark Casual Luxury to promote the brand. The brand defines the slogan as using "the finest cashmere, pima cottons, and highest quality leather to create the ultimate in casual, body conscious clothing," and "implementing and/or incorporating time honored machinery ...to produce the most exclusive denim..."
The brand carries Men's fragrances Fierce, Cologne 41, Proof, and Colden. Women's fragrances include Perfume 8, Classic, Perfume 41, and Wakely. Released at the same time, Fierce and 8 and Cologne41 and Perfume 41 are marketed to compliment one another. High-end fragrances Ezra Fitch (cologne) and Ezra parfum were described as the embodiment of "the Abercrombie & Fitch heritage," until they were discontinued. Cologne Proof was released in Christmas 2006 to be removed a year later (though some stores still carry Cologne Proof). Perfumes Ready is also among the retired fragrances. Fierce and 8 are the most heavily marketed fragrances as they are the signature scents of the brand overall.
As the popularity of Abercrombie & Fitch goods increased, so did the counterfeiting of them. In 2006, the company launched the Abercrombie & Fitch Brand Protection Program to combat the issue worldwide (focusing more in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong, Japan and Korea) by working with legal forces globally. Shane Berry, who joined the company in November 2005, was placed in charge of the program. Berry is a former Supervisory Special Agent from FBI’s and was a part of its Intellectual Property Rights Program. The news release from A&F announcing its initiative stated that the "program will improve current practices and strategies by focusing on eliminating the supply of illicit Abercrombie & Fitch products."
The Brand Protection program covers all A&F brands; mainly A&F, Hollister and RUEHL. Assuring that its consumers are aware of the issue, the and features suggest customers to purchase from authentic stores and to report suspected A&F counterfeiting.
The company's Abercrombie and Fitch brand gift cards have been recognized by Consumer Affairs as a "top pick" for not having deceptive features such as expiration dates, dormancy fees, and post-purchase fees.
Other A&F brands
A&F currently has four other concepts apart from its namesake, Abercrombie & Fitch. While referred to as subsidiaries, the brands do not operate separately contrary to the definition; all brands are completely managed under the same Abercrombie & Fitch workforce. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. holds full rights and ownership to every trademark of the following brands.
abercrombie: Themed as "classic cool" for preteens 9 through 14, this is the children's version of Abercrombie & Fitch. Uses blue (against the A&F gray), blasts music from young artists, and spells marketing trademarks all-lowercase.
Hollister Co.: Themed after "SoCal" for teenagers 14 through 18, Hollister is moderately priced compared to its parent brand. The brand's stores resemble surf shacks with dim lighting, and blast rock music. It is the first of these brands to offer a personal body care line.
.]]
RUEHL No.925: Themed after Greenwich Village, this brand aims for post-collegiate 22 through 35 aged consumers. It has the highest price range among the A&F brands. This is the first brand to offer genuine leather purses and bags for women.
Gilly Hicks: Themed after "Down Under" Sydney, Australia. The latest brand from Abercrombie & Fitch, it offers underwear and loungewear for women 18.
Humanitarian works and sponsors
A&F Challenge
The A&F Challenge is an annual held Fundraiser event by Abercrombie & Fitch. It features running, walking, biking with entertainment and food. A&F hosted the 8th Annual A&F Challenge on September 13, 2008 on its Home Office campus in New Albany. The funds raised will go to the Ohio State University Medical Center's Program for Health. It focuses on "women's cancers and the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease."
The entertainment for the 2008 A&F challenge was Five Times August
Inferno Elite Racing Team
Abercrombie & Fitch is a sponsor of the Inferno Elite Racing Team, a non-profit cycling team. The 2007 team uniforms have the "A&F" logo across the chest of their uniform which is accented with camouflage patterns.
Scholarships
Abercrombie & Fitch partnered with the National Society of High School Scholars at the Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia on December 1, 2007 to offer a $75,000 scholarships to NSHSS members.
Future plans
After a turbulent Chirstmas 2008 fashion season with economic turn-down in the retail industry, Abercrombie & Fitch has adjusted its plans for 2009 to fit the persisting "environment". The company's main commitments for the year is the openings of the HCO flagship (in SoHo), the abercrombie flagship (in Milan), and the two A&F flagships (in Milan and Tokyo). There will be no EPS guidance for fiscal 2009. The company estimates its total expidentures for fiscal 2009 to be $165 to $175 million USD ($125 million for new stores/remodeling and $45-50 million for various Home Office projects). Plans on expansion in Europe have been slightly altered.
Expansion campaign
The main long-term goal of Abercrombie & Fitch is to successfully execute its strategy of flagship openings for its brands in high-profile shopping centers worldwide. Thorough research is completed before entering new markets. The aim is growth at a "deliberate pace".
Canada
Canadian expansion is expected to continue, with more mall store locations for both brands in upcoming years. Abercrombie & Fitch has released abercrombie's first international store in Canada. It opened in Sherway Gardens, Toronto, Ontario on August 21, 2008. Abercrombie & Fitch has opened another abercrombie store in the Toronto Eaton Centre. Abercrombie & Fitch has opened two other Hollister Co. stores in Newmarket, Ontario in the Upper Canada Mall and Fairview Mall in Toronto, Ontario. Another Hollister Co. was opened in 2008, the first Abercrombie & Fitch retail store in British Columbia, in the Pacific Centre in downtown Vancouver.
Europe
The company has been considering European expansion for years and decided to enter the European market believing that the demand for Abercrombie & Fitch has grown strong there. After its expansion into the United Kingdom in 2007, where it launched its European flagship store in London, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. plans to continue expansion in the area with key locations - preliminary talks about opening a store in Dublin, Ireland, have been held. Abercrombie & Fitch has been attempting to secure locations in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark and Sweden. For fiscal 2008, the company plans to open four Hollister Co. stores as well in the UK.
- Copenhagen flagship: To be located at Kobmagergade 11 in a space (first constructed in 1910), the flagship will been designed to implement old neoclassical Danish architecture along with the A&F lifestyle. The opening date has been moved to 2010 from 2009.
- Milan flagship: Marketing billboards have been placed on the facade of this location to open in 2009. It will open along with the abercrombie kids flagship.
- Paris flagship: Approval has just gone through for the contruction of an A&F flagship on the famed Champs-Élysées. It is expected to open doors in 2011.
Asia
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has announced plans to open a flagship store in the Ginza district of Tokyo, Japan in 2009. The location would be the fourth overall and the second international flagship of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand.
Latin America
The company has announced plans to expand into the Latin American market, starting with one store in the Tolón Fashion Mall of Caracas, Venezuela.
Legal issues
Since the rise in popularity of Abercrombie & Fitch, the brand has been involved in legal conflicts over employment practices and clothing style.
Lawsuit against American Eagle Outfitters
In 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch filed a lawsuit against American Eagle Outfitters, claiming that they copied their garments' designs, among other things. The lawsuit was based on a trade dress claim, stating that American Eagle Outfitters had very closely mimicked Abercrombie & Fitch's products' visual appearance and packaging. Specifically, A&F claimed that American Eagle Outfitters copied particular articles of clothing, in-store displays and advertisements, and even the A&F product catalog. Despite the admission that American Eagle may have utilized very similar materials, designs, in-store displays, symbols, color combinations, and patterns as Abercrombie & Fitch, the court ruled that there was not an excessive level of similarity to confuse potential customers, and therefore the court ruled in favor of the defendant, American Eagle.
Employment practices
In 2004 lawsuit González v. Abercrombie & Fitch, the company was accused of discriminating against ethnic minorities by offering desirable positions to White American employees. The company agreed to an out-of-court settlement of the class action suit. As part of the settlement terms, Abercrombie and Fitch agreed to pay US$45 million to rejected applicants and affected employees, include more minorities in advertising campaigns, appoint a Vice President of Diversity, hire 25 recruiters to seek minority employees, and discontinue the practice of recruiting employees at primarily white fraternities and sororities.
Dwight A. McBride has written Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch: Essays on Race and Sexuality, which explores greater American intergroup relations while criticizing Abercrombie and Fitch.
Controversy and criticism
Since its re-establishment in 1988, Abercrombie & Fitch has faced numerous accusations in regards to its employment practices, merchandise, and advertising campaigns which have been described as sexually explicit and homoerotic.
A&F Quarterly
Conservative and religious groups panned the original American publication of A&F Quarterly (published from 1997 to 2003) for its sexually explicit nature. The magazine contained nude photography by Bruce Weber, articles about sex, and recipes for alcoholic beverages. Also acting as a catalog, the Quarterly displayed the brand's merchandise with information and prices. Advertisements for the A&F Quarterly appeared in Interview, Out, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.
Despite a company policy restricting sale of the publication to minors, critics charged that the publication was readily sold to minors. In 2003, an array of religious organizations, women's rights activists, and Asian American groups organized boycotts and protests over the publication, and the "Christmas Edition" of the catalog was removed from stores. However, Jeffries said he chose to discontinue the catalog, because "Frankly, [he] was getting sick of the old one; it was getting boring."
Product criticism
In 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch sold a shirt that featured the slogan "Wong Brothers Laundry Service—Two Wongs Can Make It White" with smiling figures in conical straw hats, a depiction of early Chinese immigrants. The company discontinued the designs and apologized after a boycott started by an Asian American student group at Stanford University. That same year, abercrombie kids removed a line of thong 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 twice in 2004. The first incident involved a shirt featuring the phrase, "It's All Relative in West Virginia," a jab at alleged incest relations in rural America. West Virginia governor Bob Wise spoke out against the company for depicting "an unfounded, negative stereotype of West Virginia," but the shirts were not removed. Later, another t-shirt that said "L is for Loser" next to a picture of a male gymnast on the rings gathered publicity. The company stopped selling the shirt in October 2004 after USA Gymnastics president Bob Colarossi announced a boycott of Abercrombie & Fitch for mocking the sport.
In 2005, the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania launched a "girlcott" of the store for selling T-shirts that read, "Who needs brains when you have these?", "Available for parties," and "I had a nightmare I was a brunette." The campaign received national coverage on The Today Show, and the company pulled the shirts from stores on November 5, 2005.
Bob Jones University and its affiliated pre-collegiate schools along with other Christian schools have prohibited Abercrombie & Fitch 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.
The conservative interest group Concerned Citizens United Against Drugs and Terrorism have accused Abercrombie & Fitch of selling "Marxist Pants."
After Abercrombie & Fitch raised its price points in 2004, its products have been described as overpriced. After the company opened its flagship in London, the brand was criticized in the UK because the merchandise that was offered to the customers cost double (or even a direct $/£ swap) the prices found in the United States.
Parody
Improv Everywhere, a comedy group that pulls public pranks en masse, parodied A&F's ads featuring bare-chested male models by having 111 "agents" enter the A&F store in New York City and remove their shirts. This drew mixed, but mostly amused, reactions from customers and staff, but store security quickly ejected the IE members.
MADtv, a sketch comedy television series, parodied A&F's homoerotic advertising images and hiring practices. In these skits, three Abercrombie & Fitch Employees are depicted as vain, vapid, unhelpful, and overly coifed gay men. However, in one sketch, a young woman named "Apple" (Alanis Morissette) reminds the male employees that Abercrombie is also about "girls with sun-kissed skin and medium sized breasts who get together at dawn to play topless flag football."
The Abercrombie & Fitch Emergency Department and Trauma Center
In 2008, Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio agreed to rename its emergency room to the Abercrombie & Fitch Emergency Department and Trauma Center in exchange for a $10 million donation from Abercrombie & Fitch. A letter written by the Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, signed by over 100 doctors and children's advocacy groups, argued against the renaming, for the "company's appalling history of targeting children with sexualized marketing and clothing."
|
| |
|
|
