Abercrombie & Fitch

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Abercrombie & Fitch (IPA: /'æbɝkrɒmbiː ænd 'fɪtʃ/) (NYSE: ANF) is an upscale American clothing company. Its five brands are Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie, Hollister Co., RUEHL No.925, and Gilly Hicks.

Abercrombie & Fitch operates 362 same-brand name stores and a total of 1004 stores across all four brands, located throughout the United States except in Wyoming.^[5] With six stores in Canada and one international flagship store in London, England, the company plans to continue expansion outside of the United States.^[6] The Company's fifth brand, Gilly Hicks, is scheduled to launch by January 2008.^[7] A flagship for the Hollister brand in SoHo and for the Abercrombie & Fitch brand in Tokyo are in development for openings within 2009.^[8][9]

Founded in 1892 by David Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch, the A&F Company was for many decades an outfitter of quality 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.^[10][11]

[edit] History

At the beginning of the 20th century, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was a retail store for New York's elite sporting expeditions. Prominent American figures who have patronized the company include Teddy Roosevelt,^[12] Amelia Earhart,^{[12] [13]} Greta Garbo,^[12] Katharine Hepburn,^[12] Clark Gable,^[12] Cole Porter,^[12] John Steinbeck,^[14] and Ernest Hemingway (who is said to have bought the gun he used to commit suicide at Abercrombie & Fitch Co.).^[15]

[edit] Foundation and beginnings

Further information: David Abercrombie, Ezra Fitch

Abercrombie Co. was founded by David T. Abercrombie on June 4 1892 as a small waterfront shop at No.36 South Street in downtown Manhattan, New York; wealthy New York lawyer Ezra Fitch was one of his regular customers.^[16] In 1900, Fitch left his law practice and bought a major share into the growing company, thus becoming co-founder. There afterwards, Abercrombie Co. moved into larger quarters at 314 Broadway, and Fitch began to implement experimental ideas on how to renovate the store.^[16] In 1904, the his surname was incorporated and so the official name was changed to Abercrombie & Fitch Co.^[16] Partnership between the founders did not end well. The two men, envisioning different ideas for the future of the Company, quarreled frequently although the company grew increasingly successful. Abercrombie opposed Fitch's envisions of expanding the company's appeal to the general public, where as Abercrombie was more conservative and wanted to continue selling professional gear to professional outdoorsmen.^[17] As a result, Abercrombie sold his share in the company to Fitch in 1907 and returned to manufacturing outdoor goods.^[16] Fitch continued the business with other partners and was, for the first time, able to direct the company in a manner to his pleasing.

Ezra Fitch determined that the store ought to have an outdoor feeling, an ambient atmosphere, and displayed outdoor goods and campfire as if it was up for use. Part of Fitch's strategy to expand the company included the creation of a mail-order catalog. In 1909, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. mailed over 50,000 copies of its 456 page catalog (a staggering and costly amount of publication at that time), which included outdoor clothing, camping gear, articles, and advice columns. The cost of the catalog nearly bankrupted the company, but it proved to be a very profitable marketing device. By 1910, the company became the first store in New York to supply clothing to women as well as men. In 1913, after moving into Reade Street, which was not a convenient shopping location for women, the store relocated to a more fashionable and easily accessible midtown address just off Fifth Avenue at 55/57 West 36th Street, expanding its inventory to include sports' clothing.^[18] In 1917, the store moved yet again into a twelve-story building at the corner of Madison Avenue & 45th Street. The store occupied the entire available space, making it the world's largest sporting goods store. Outside, a sign proclaimed, "Where the Blazed Trail Crosses the Boulevard."^[16]

This Madison Avenue store included many different amenities. The basement roomed a shooting range while on the mezzanine (main floor), there was paraphernalia for skiing, archery, skin-diving, and lawn games. The second through fifth floors were reserved for clothing that was suitable for any climate or terrain. On the sixth floor, there was a picture gallery, a bookstore (focused on sporting themes), a watch repair facility and a golf school (fully equipped with a resident professional). The seventh floor included a gun room, stuffed game heads, and about hundreds of shot guns and rifles. The eighth floor was dedicated solely to fishing, camping, and boating. It also included a desk that belonged to a fly-and bait-casting instructor who gave lessons at the pool, which was located on the roof. The fishing section of the store alone was stocked with over 48,000 flies and over 18,000 fishing lures.^[16]

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. also became the first American store to import Mahjong. Ezra Fitch decided to import the game when a female customer looked for the game she had played in China. He sent to China for the game and translated the instructions into English. The game became a fast selling product. The company sent emissaries to Chinese villages to buy as many Mahjong set as possible and eventually sold over 12,000 sets. In 1927, Abercrombie & Fitch outfitted Charles Lindbergh for his historic flight across the Atlantic Ocean.^[16]

[edit] Post-Ezra Fitch

In 1928, Fitch retired from the company, and Abercrombie & Fitch Co. continued to expand. The company rarely sold products with a name brand during this period, preferring to label nearly everything with their own logo. In 1939, it adopted the slogan, "The Greatest Sporting Goods Store in the World". By 1962, the company operated stores in Chicago (formerly Von Lengerke & Antoine, an associated sporting goods retailer since 1928), San Francisco, California, San malls in Short Hills, New Jersey (1963), Bal Harbour, Florida (1966), Troy, Michigan (1969) and Oak Brook, Illinois (1972). Despite the chain's apparent success, the Company began to falter financially in the late 1960s and filed for bankruptcy in 1977. Oshman's, a sporting goods retailer, acquired Abercrombie & Fitch Co. soon thereafter, but the Company continued to struggle after Oshman’s struggled itself to develop a strong identity for the company.^[19]

[edit] 1988 through 2000: Revival of Abercrombie & Fitch

See also: Abercrombie Kids

In 1988, Limited Brands, then known as The Limited, Inc., acquired Abercrombie & Fitch Co. to reinvigorate the ailing company.^[20] The Limited had been successful in rolling out new concept stores, such as Express and Victoria's Secret. Over the next decade, the Company was carefully rebuilt as an upscale teen apparel merchandiser by Chief Executive Officer, Michael S. Jeffries.^[21][22]

The company which had been re-established as a clothing brand re-opened in the late 1980s with an outdoors image reminiscent to the company's original roots. Chain stores were opened in upscale malls nationwide targeting teenagers and the collegiate.

Clothing produced during the 1990s was fairly consistent with the brand's "preppy" image. The apparel consisted of woven shirts, denim, miniskirts, cargo shorts, wool sweaters, polo shirts, and t-shirts. By the mid-1990s, there were dozens of Abercrombie & Fitch stores in the United States.^[23] On September 26, 1996, The Limited, Inc. took Abercrombie & Fitch public on the New York Stock Exchange with the ticker symbol "ANF" and with the per share offering as $16; The Limited gradually faded in its ownership of the brand.^[24]

In late 1990s, the company introduced a canoe store design to accommodate its growth. The first canoe store opened in June 1996 in Chesterfield, Missouri. Common design elements of the canoe store's exterior prototype from the 1990s to late 2006 included white molding, awnings, and metal doors only. The canoe store has one main entrance and is walled off into at least five rooms, as opposed to the chain stores' double storefronts. The Company then began to opt building stores only averaging 8,000 to 20,000 square feet (700 to 2,000 m²) in high-volume retail centers around the country.

In 1997, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. published its second "magalog" titled A&F Quarterly. The publication included sexually explicit material (consisting of photography, interviews and articles). By 1998, the company introduced "abercrombie", its second brand targeted towards a younger audience. Early models of abercrombie include Lindsay Lohan, Cassie, and Christina Akatsuka. By the next year, Abercrombie & Fitch became a part of a lawsuit on the behalf of Saipan garment workers. Many brands were charged with responsibility for sweatshop conditions, including Abercrombie & Fitch.^[25]

Throughout the 1990s, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. enjoyed sales of over Image:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg$400/ft² (Image:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg$4300/m²)

[edit] 2000 to today: expansion and growth

See also: Hollister Co. and RUEHL No.925

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. introduced its third brand in July 2000. Targeted to teenagers ages 14 through 18, Hollister Co. had a concept of a preppy California surfing image as opposed to the East Coast concept of Abercrombie and Fitch. To avoid competition with its more moderately-priced concept, the company brought forth the high-end Ezra Fitch collection, and began producing A&F clothing with higher-grade materials, thus increasing the prices. In 2001, the company moved into a new 300 acre Home office in New Albany, Ohio, and further expanded its headquarters by 2003.^[16][26] Also in 2003, the Company published its last publication of A&F Quarterly, its winter edition, and reported brand sales of up to Image:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg$345/ft² (Image:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg$3700/m²).

After the success with Hollister Co., the company introduced its fourth brand, RUEHL No.925, on September 6, 2004. This new concept marketed towards post-collegiate individuals aged 22 through 35.^[27] Mike Jeffries stated RUEHL took years of planning for the brand's image and its stores' atmosphere. In November 2005, the company completed construction of its first store in Fifth Avenue, New York City. This flagship store is located alongside Fendi, Prada, and Chanel. By now, the trademark Casual Luxury has been used for its products and designated e-commerce websites for the Company's brands have been in operation. Revenue reported for 2005 was Image:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg $2.021 Billion USD.^[28]

Abercrombie and Fitch began its international expansion in January 2006 when the company opened two Abercrombie & Fitch stores and three Hollister Co. stores in Canada. By Fall 2006, a third Canadian Abercrombie & Fitch store was opened in the Toronto Eaton Centre and for Winter 2006, the A&F and abercrombie websites change to today's designs. Revenue reported for 2006 is at Image:Green Arrow Up Darker.svg $3.318 Billion USD, an increase of over $1.297 USD from 2005.^[29]

[edit] Abercrombie & Fitch today

[edit] International expansion

Most of Abercrombie & Fitch stores are, or have been remodeled to be, canoe stores, which feature exterior windows with louvers installed into both sides of the exterior windows' frames to create a darker atmosphere. A few chain stores that feature plaid carpeting and preppy wallpaper still exist.

On March 22 2007, Abercrombie & Fitch opened its first European store in London at 7 Burlington Gardens at Savile Row. The store generated a volume of $280,000 USD in its first 6 hours of operation. A&F plans on opening additional stores in the U.K. and in Europe within the coming years in key prominent shopping locations.^[6]

In Canada the majority of stores operate in Toronto, Ontario. Recently, a store in West Edmonton Mall (store #2674), the largest indoor mall in North America in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada has been opened - a move of further expansion in the area.^[30]

[edit] Flagship stores

See also: Fifth Avenue, The Grove at Farmers Market, and Savile Row

Abercrombie & Fitch operates three full flagship stores in New York City, Los Angeles, California, and London. The store in New York City was the first flagship store to be opened in Fall 2005. A store in the West Coast opened at The Grove at Farmers Market in Los Angeles, California in August 2006. Opened on March 22 2007, the store at Savile Row in London was the first international flagship store. The second international store to be opened in Tokyo is in development to be opened in January 2009.^[31]

[edit] Marketing and store management

Abercrombie & Fitch markets through means of sensual photographs in grayscale. Many of which have been photographed by Bruce Weber who is known for his sexually explicit photography and photographs for fashion companies such as Calvin Klein.

The Company manages merchandising, distribution, and sales by assigning each store a tier level (1, 2, 3, 4, or 5) and a volume level (A, B, C, D, E, or F). Tier level determines what selection of the current clothing line is sent to a store. Tier 1 stores receive all of the current items in all styles and colors; for example, lower tier stores are sent less merchandise in a smaller range of sizes and colors. A store's tier level is independent of its volume, since allocation is often dependent on available area of selling space. Some small stores are relatively high volume, but lack the floor space needed to support the entire line. A store can have different tier designations for its men's and women's sides. (Women's retail usually outperforms men's by a ratio of about 2:1.) The company designates Volume A stores, usually in major cities and tourist destinations, as "elite" or "super-elite." There are three super elite (AA) stores (Ala Moana in Honolulu, Aventura in Miami, and South Street Seaport in New York City) and fewer than thirty elite (A) stores in the chain including the new international store in West Edmonton Mall, the largest indoor mall in North America in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.^[32]

The brand has specific standards on the design and the visual layout of the store. The music is mostly vocal trance and dance songs. The stores have been known for playing music at loud decibel levels. An undercover inspection, measuring music levels in teen stores in a random mall, revealed a 90 decibel level for that Abercrombie & Fitch store, which is as loud as heavy construction machinery noise, and is harmful to the ears, but nonetheless is the corporate store policy sound level.^[33]

[edit] Apparel and goods

Their collection apparel consists of graphic/humor t-shirts, shirts, jeans, denim skirts, outerwear, fleece, men's underwear, and a modest collection of fragrances, and flip-flops.

The brand carries cologne "Fierce", "Proof", and "Cologne 41". Their collection of women's perfume consists of "8", "Classic", and their latest "Perfume 41". Respectively, every cologne and perfume were released together ("Fierce" with "8", "Proof" with "Classic", etc.). Cologne "Ezra Fitch" and perfume "Ready" and "Ezra" (Eau de Parfum and Parfum, the most expensive fragrance in the brand) have been discontinued since November 2007. Fierce and 8 are the most marketed fragrances as they are the signature scents of the brand.^[34]

[edit] Employment

The brand representatives are responsible for customer service. Select Abercrombie & Fitch stores have "store greeters" like the previous A&F model of summer 2007, Kris Lewin, who stated to be one and was seen greeting at an A&F store in the seasonal "A&F New Faces" video. For years, the representatives were required to wear only Abercrombie & Fitch apparel, but such regulations have been loosened following lawsuits. The "Impact Team" was created in 2004 in order to better control merchandise within each store and maintain company standards. Impact Team members are less responsible for customer service and more responsible for ensuring that the sales floor is appropriately filled with merchandise from stock supply. In 2005, full-time stock positions which had been previously done away with were re-added in order to better control back-stocked merchandise.

Many lawsuits have been placed against the Company in the past years due to discrimination. In 2004, the company was sued in the major lawsuit, Gonzalez vs. Abercrombie & Fitch (see Controversy and Criticism below), opting to give desirable positions to whites. After losing the major lawsuit, the company began to promote recruiting more employees from minority backgrounds.^[35]

[edit] Other Abercrombie & Fitch Co. brands

The brands target different age groups and bear different themes.

[edit] abercrombie kids

Main article: abercrombie Kids

abercrombie, introduced in 1998, is targeted to a younger audience, ages 7 through 14. The store uses the same moose logo as the parent brand, but only utilizes the name "abercrombie" with a lower case "a" and has a navy blue color scheme (in contrast to the adult's gray color scheme). The merchandise is styled similarly to that of Abercrombie & Fitch with lower prices. The design of the store resembles that of its parent brand. The store features dark brown hardwood floors and white and gray painted walls. Loud music from young artists blast throughout the stores to promote the "classic cool" slogan of the brand.

[edit] Hollister Co.

Main article: Hollister Co.

Introduced in 2000, Hollister Co. is a California-inspired apparel brand targeted towards patrons ages 14 through 18 with a lower price point than Abercrombie & Fitch. Hollister stores have a worn and washed-out, impoverished beachside boardwalk theme: the facade resembles a dump-front shack called the "Porch", and the dimly lit interior features surfboards mounted behind the cash-wrap wall and light blue wood flooring. The first Hollister Co. flagship will open in SoHo, New York by Spring 2009.^[36]

Hollister also has retails stores in Canada.

[edit] RUEHL No.925

Main article: RUEHL No.925

RUEHL No.925, introduced September 6, 2004, is a Greenwich Village inspired brand that caters to the post-collegiate customers aged 22 through 35. With a higher price range than its parent brand, RUEHL is the first in the company to produce a genuine leather goods line, which has been discontinued. Goods at RUEHL are said to have a close resemblance to the Ezra Fitch line of clothes sold at Abercrombie & Fitch stores. RUEHL is using their name on most of their products, rather than a symbol; although their collection of solid polos have solely their mascot, a French bulldog by the name of "Trubble", on them. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. plans to launch its online RUEHL store at ruehl.com by its spring 2008 fashion season.^[37]

[edit] Other

[edit] 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.^[38]

[edit] A&F TV

In 1999, the company rolled out "A&F TV", a feature that spotlights young people engaged in sports and leisure activities. A&F TV was originally developed to run on cable television and on monitors in Abercrombie & Fitch stores, but was offered only on the company's website until recently.

[edit] The future of Abercrombie & Fitch Co.

[edit] Gilly Hicks

Abercrombie & Fitch has been in preparations for its latest brand named Gilly Hicks. Steeped in an Australian theme, the brand will open January 2008. Merchandise will consist of women's lingerie, loungewear and personal care products.^[39]

[edit] International expansion

[edit] Canadian expansion

The Company marked its expansion into Canada in 2006. It currently holds six locations: three Abercrombie & Fitch stores, and three Hollister Co. stores. Same-brand flagships have been designated for major locations (e.g. East Coast of the United States: Fifth Avenue), but no plans for a Canadian flagship have yet been proposed. Canadian expansion will continue, with more mall store locations for both brands in upcoming years. Locations currently being assessed by the company are in Vancouver, Calgary, and Ottawa.^[40]

In 2008, abercrombie (abercrombie Kids) will open in Canada, with the first two stores to be located at the Toronto Eaton Centre, and Sherway Gardens, both in Toronto, Ontario.^[40]

[edit] European expansion

After its expansion into the United Kingdom in 2007, 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.^[41] The Company has been evaluating the European markets for some time and has come to the conclusion that the demand for the Abercrombie & Fitch brand is very strong, believing that now is the ideal time to execute international growth strategies with expansion throughout Europe.^[6] Currently, Abercrombie & Fitch is in the process of securing key locations in Italy, France, Germany, Spain, Denmark and Sweden.^[6]

PBS Real State, LLC and its principal Laura Pomerantz are the Company's exclusive real state consultants to identify locations that best support the Abercrombie & Fitch brand. Ms. Pomeratz has helped the Company in the past in securing key locations, more specifically the flagship location in Fifth Avenue and the RUEHL No.925 accessories store on Blecker Street between Charles and Perry. The Company is proud to have her as partner on the project, feeling that she has an excellent understanding of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand and location attributes needed to ensure a successful expansion throughout Europe. Ms. Pomeratz has said that there are numourous ideal locations for the Company's brand, but that their (PBS Real State) global reach will aid greatly in the ongoing search.^[6]

[edit] Expansion into Asia

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. will as well open its store in Tokyo, Japan around late 2009. The location is to become the fourth overall and the second international flagship of the Abercrombie & Fitch brand. Centrally located in Tokyo's Ginza district, the lease for the location has been signed. Hiroyuki Tanaka presented the Company with the deal. Annabelle Selldorf will be in charge of designs for the flagship.^[6]

[edit] Brands' expansion

Further information: Hollister Co.#The Future of Hollister Co.

Further information: RUEHL No.925#The Future of RUEHL No.925

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is also wanting to expand the Hollister Co. brand to another level by opening its first ever HCO flagship in the fashionable district of SoHo by Spring 2009.^[42] Furthermore, the Company plans to add RUEHL No.925 stores in upscale malls nationwide the United States and will open the first ever RUEHL full e-commerce online store ruehl.com by the brand's Spring 2008 fashion season.^[43]

[edit] Controversy and criticism

[edit] A&F Quarterly

Main article: A&F Quarterly

A&F Quarterly was published from 1997 to 2003. The publication was a hybrid magazine and catalog that featured advice columns, articles about college life, and sexually suggestive photographs by Bruce Weber.

The Quarterly featured photographs of male and female models, often nude or semi-nude, posing in pairs or groups. The merchandise was mostly displayed on separate pages with information and pricing. Print advertisements for the A&F Quarterly appeared in Interview, Out, Rolling Stone and Vanity Fair.^[44]

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.^[45]

The Quarterly was briefly replaced in 2004 by A&F Magazine, a comparatively tame collection of photos and essays about rising celebrities. Currently, A&F publishes just a quarterly catalog.

[edit] Products

The company's clothing has also been the subject of criticism. In 2002, controversy erupted over shirts featuring caricatures of Asians and other ethnic groups. One shirt featured the slogan "Wong Brothers Laundry Service—Two Wongs Can Make It White" with smiling figures in conical straw hats, a 1900s depiction of Chinese immigrants. The company discontinued the designs and apologized after a boycott by Asian American student groups at universities such as Stanford University.^[46] That same year, the children's clothing division 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.^[47]

More T-shirt controversy occurred twice in 2004. The first incident involved a shirt featuring the phrase, "It's All Relative in West Virginia," an apparent jab at 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.^[48]

johnny depp T-shirt with the phrase "L is for Loser" written next to a picture of a male gymnast on the rings (the same shirt was worn by Tyson Ritter of The All-American Rejects in the music video for "Move Along"). 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.^[49]

In November 2005, the Women & Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania launched a "girl-cott" of the store for selling T-shirts bearing phrases like "Who needs brains when you have these?" in reference to large breasts and dumb blondes. The campaign went national on NBC's The Today Show, and the company pulled the shirts from stores on November 5, 2005.^[50]

Bob Jones University and its affiliated pre-collegiate schools along with other Christian schools have forbidden 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 advertising.^[51]

[edit] Employment practices

For four years, Abercrombie & Fitch has faced accusations of discrimination against minority employees. A 2004 lawsuit — Gonzalez v. Hollister — accused the company of discriminating against minority employees 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, A&F agreed to pay US$45 million to rejected applicants and affected employees, institute policies and programs that promote diversity in its workforce and 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.^[52]

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.^[53]

[edit] 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.^[54]

[edit] References

de:Abercrombie & Fitch es:Abercrombie and Fitch fr:Abercrombie & Fitch nl:Abercrombie & Fitch ja:アバクロンビー&フィッチ pl:Abercrombie & Fitch ro:Abercrombie & Fitch zh:亞伯克朗比及費區