The Rise & The Fall of Abercrombie and Fitch
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The following presentation highlights the background of the company and timeline of the rise and fall of the company. The timeline is followed by the 11 big blunders by Abercrombie and Fitch which resulted in the decrease of sales revenue and brand criticism across the globe.....
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The Rise & The Fall of Abercrombie and Fitch
- 1. THE RISE and THE FALL Prepared By: Bhavik Doshi (B013) - Abercrombie & Fitch
- 2. About the Company • Began in 1982 • David Abercrombie opened first store in New York • Started the business selling high-quality camping, fishing and hunting gear to professional hunters & explorers • Business bought by the lawyer name Ezra Fitch • Changed its name to Abercrombie & Fitch in 1904
- 3. Brands • The company is brand its apparel under four brands viz. – Abercrombie & Fitch – Abercrombie Kids – Hollister Co. – Gilly Hicks
- 4. Timeline of the Rise and Fall 1892 David Abercrombie opened first store in South Street, Manhattan, New York 1892 Started business with selling of high- quality camping, fishing and hunting gear to hunters and explorers 1904 Ezra Fitch, a lawyer bought the business
- 5. Timeline of the Rise and Fall 1906 Ezra Fitch was officially named co- founder and store was renamed Abercrombie & Fitch 1907 Abercrombie sold his share of the company, enabling Ezra to achieve his goal of expanding store’s general retail 1910 Store moved to more fashionable and high- trafficked 5th Madison Avenue and became first retail store to sell both men’s & women’s clothing
- 6. Timeline of the Rise and Fall 1917 Abercrombie and Fitch became largest sporting goods store in the world 1927 Official outfitter for Charles Lindbergh’s historic flight Atlantic 1947 Reached Sales Peak and continued to expand in 1950s
- 7. Timeline of the Rise and Fall 1960s Sales slumped as company president John Ewing refused to reduce prices 1977 Filed for bankruptcy and was acquired by Oshman’s Sporting Goods 1988 Limited Brands purchased A & F and made apparel the focus
- 8. Timeline of the Rise and Fall 1992 Company President Sally Frame - Kasaks stepped out 1990s Mike Jeffries was hired as CEO and focused on teen retail markets 2002 Abercrombie & Fitch received substantial backlash from Asian Americans
- 9. Timeline of the Rise and Fall 2003 Allegation for discriminatory hiring practices against African Americans, Latino and Asian Americans 2006 Mike Jeffries as CEO created the “Cool” controversy by saying sexual attraction is more important than emotional experience 2011 A & F sued for $ 1 million by model Benjamin Bowers for asking to masturbate during photo-shoot to make him look “relaxed”
- 10. Timeline of the Rise and Fall 2012 International expansion plans were a focus which fell flat with decrease in sales by 26% from 2011 to 2012 2013 Criticism of Mike Jeffries as CEO for not selling XL or XXL sizes for women which resulted in backlash 2014 Mike Jeffries issued pseudo apology for 2006 comments and the company reported 9% decrease in revenue and 17% drop in same store sales for first quarter
- 11. 11 BIG Blunders For “The Fall” of Abercrombie & Fitch
- 12. Don’t Sell Clothes for Large Women • A & F don’t sell XL or XXL sizes larger women, despite offering the for men. • Mike Jeffries says, “He doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he want thin & beautiful people” • The company faced public criticism and a storm of public backlash
- 13. Discriminating Hiring Practices • Predominantly involved in recruiting people from white sororities and fraternities • Faced numbers of lawsuits for discriminating hiring practices Company settled the suit in federal court by agreeing to change their recruitment practices
- 14. Workplace Bias Shifting of non-white and less attractive employees to stock room, away from customers Lawsuit for allegedly forcing an employee with prosthetic arm in the stock room off the selling floor
- 15. Only Good Looking People Allowed • Abercrombie & Fitch CEO said that his business was built around sex appeal “Sex appeal is almost everything. 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,” Jeffries said.
- 16. Insulting America’s Sweetheart • Abercrombie & Fitch released a t-shirt reading “more boyfriends than t.s.” referring to Taylor Swift’s turbulent love life • Abercrombie pulled the shirt after the country singer's ardent fans inundated the retailer with threats and complaints.
- 17. Mark up of Clothing by 65 % Overseas • Abercrombie & Fitch struggled to shore up on U.S. business, instead relying upon international growth to fuel revenue • The company has marked the same goods sold in its U.S. stores up more than 65% in Europe. • Global slowdown has crimped the expansion, by cutting Hollister’s expansion plans by 25% this year
- 18. Company’s Ads – Soft Core Porn • A&F has faced considerable criticism, boycotting and lawsuits regarding its overtly sexual materials in advertisement and was called upon soft core porn by many groups like National Coalition for the protection of Children and Families.
- 19. Shirts that Offended Customers • Recalled of no. of men’s t-shirt after boycott from Asian American groups • T-shirt relied on no. of Asian stereotypes to drive sales • Included stereotypes like eyes and cone shaped hats.
- 20. Save Saville Row from A & F • Angered other retailers after announcement of opening of children’s clothing store • London’s Saville Row – Famous for its bespoke tailoring and three-piece suits
- 21. Bathing Suits – Too Sexy for Kids • Abercrombie & Fitch also came under fire for some of the goods it produced for its Abercrombie kids line. • Targeted to girls aged 8 to 14, the company quickly retitled them "triangle bikinis" before pulling them from its website and stores.
- 22. Trying to be Hipster – Confusing Customers • Tried to get on eclectic brand wagon, following success of Urban Outfitters • Ended up alienating customers • Brand is straying from their original design roots
- 23. Final Words • A&F is a highly successful and profitable retailer of high-quality casual clothing thanks to its lifestyle brands. • Marketing tactics are unhealthy and not beneficial to the target market because they promote sexual promiscuity and unrealistic body images. • The company’s reputation has and will suffer if it continues pushing shock-value marketing at the cost of political correctness.
- 24. Final Words
- 25. Key References • http://www.businessinsider.in/13-Reasons-Why-People-Hate-Abercrombie- Fitch/Abercrombie-sold-shirts-that-offended-customers-/slideshow/21983904.cms • http://www.businessinsider.in/How-Consumers-Fell-In-And-Out-Of-Love-With-Abercrombie- Fitch/AF-started-as-a-store-for-outdoorsmen-/slideshow/21054405.cms • http://www.forbes.com/sites/brandindex/2013/06/06/abercrombie-impression-with- young-adults-continues-to-fall-following-cool-kid-comments/ • http://myfashionhub.wordpress.com/2013/01/14/the-rise-and-fall-of-abercrombie-fitch/ • http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abercrombie_%26_Fitch