Abercrombie & Fitch, once a dominant brand for teens in the late 90s and early 2000s, has struggled to adapt to changing cultural trends. CEO Michael Jeffries' controversial practices and remarks, including a refusal to embrace inclusivity, led to significant backlash and a decline in brand desirability. Following his departure in 2014, Abercrombie faces challenges in redefining its identity and competing in a modern retail landscape.

1. Abercrombie
Adjusts
to
a
World
Moved
On

2. For
teens
growing
up
in
the
late
90s
to
early
2000s,
Abercrombie
&
Fitch
was
THE
go-­‐to
status
clothing
store.
Preppy,
sexy
and
insanely
popular.
You
could
lose
your
“cool”
card
if
you
didn’t
have
an
A&F
logo
emblazoned
hoodie
in
your
wardrobe.
Preferably
several.
But,
according
to
sales,
criOcs
and,
most
importantly,
KIDS,
culture
has
moved
on…and
Abercrombie
is
desperately
failing
to
keep
pace.

3. You
don’t
need
to
go
too
far
back
in
your
Ome
machine
to
remember
a
day
when
Abercrombie
ruled
on
high
school
and
college
campuses.
Its
Stepford
ads
of
impossibly
beauOful,
if
somewhat
androgynous,
models,
loud
dance
music
and
dark
stores
filled
with
what
Businessweek
called
“conformist,
sexy
and
exclusive”
clothing
opOons.
The
selecOons
were
few
and
most
–
if
not
all
–
were
Oght,
low
and,
in
a
word,
unapologeOc.

4. Things
were
not
always
that
way.
When
Abercrombie
&
Fitch
went
public,
with
about
125
stores,
in
1996,
the
brand
did
not
yet
possess
its
disOncOve
air
or
reputaOon
for
unapologeOc
exclusivity.
But
that
changed
when
CEO
Michael
Jeffries
penned
a
29-­‐page
book
that
included
condiOons
for
stores
and
all
employees.
These
sOpulaOons
were
strict,
draconian
and
granite.
Women
had
to
arrive
at
work
sans
makeup
or
nail
polish.
Nearly
all
jewelry
was
verboten.
Ta_oos
as
well.
Men
had
to
be
clean-­‐shaven
and
otherwise
cleancut.
Store
managers
were
expected
to
frequent
local
college
campuses,
searching
for
coeds
with
the
Abercrombie
look.
You
may
have
already
guessed
they
started
at
fraterniOes,
sororiOes,
and
athleOc
teams.
Photos
of
hopefuls
were
forwarded
to
“headquarters”
for
approval.

5. The
“This
Is
Definitely
Not
‘Hot
Topic’”
message
resonated.
A&F
was
the
ulOmate
frat
party
fantasy
for
jocks
and
Mean
Girls,
and
even
many
who
might
have
otherwise
claimed
to
hate
the
image
clamored
to
be
included.
Then
came
the
controversies.

6. When
the
recession
hit
all
retail
with
the
force
of
a
cartoon
anvil,
Jeffries
curtly
refused
to
lower
prices
or
standards.
Instead,
he
maneuvered
the
brand
into
one
PR
situaOon
ader
another.
Racist
t-­‐shirts,
thongs
for
preteens
and
a
blatant
refusal
to
even
consider
stocking
plus
size
clothes.
Each
move
created
a_endant
controversy,
and,
each
Ome,
Jeffries
just
smiled
his
Cheshire
grin
and
kept
on
keeping
on.
It
was
during
this
la_er
controversy
that
the
CEO
made
headlines
naOonwide
with
his
infamous
quote:
“Does
it
exclude
people?
Absolutely.
We
are
the
cool
brand.”

7. Miscalculated
might
be
an
understatement.
Jeffries
may
have
thought
his
quip
simply
another
case
of
wink-­‐wink
PR
grabbing,
but
he
failed
to
account
for
both
the
evolving
culture,
parOcularly
among
his
target
market,
and
the
power
of
social
media
to
enact
cultural
change.
Jeffries
was
universally
blasted,
easily
drowning
out
anyone
who
might
have
defended
him.
Some
millions
sOll
shop
at
A&F,
but
the
brand
has
lost
much
of
its
mysOque.

8. Time,
as
it
tends
to
do,
kept
Ocking,
and
so
did
the
trend
machine.
Fast
forward
a
decade
and
the
comfortable
sneer
of
Abercrombie
is
as
out
of
fashion
as
Jersey
Shore
bro
culture.
But
the
brand
has
failed
to
adequately
keep
pace
with
a
world
less
interested
in
its
agtude
and
appearance.
And
now
Jeffries
has
paid
the
price.
He
“reOred”
in
December
2014,
leaving
the
brand
without
its
iconic
–
if
controversial
–
leader…and,
worse,
without
much
of
any
plan
for
how
to
retake
the
retail
hill.

9. This
post
was
reforma_ed
for
distribuOon.
To
read
more
content
from
Ronn
Torossian,
please
visit
h_p://ronntorossianupdate.com