Abercrombie & Fitch To "Tone Down" Amidst Plummeting Sales
Quote:
The New Albany, Ohio-based company, which operates stores under its namesake brand and Hollister, announced Friday that store associates will not be hired "based on body type or physical attractiveness" and it will no longer call them "models" but "brand representatives." It also said that its employees can be more individualistic when they dress, ditching its "look policy," which banned eyeliner and certain hair styles among other things.
It's also bidding adieu to "sexualized" photos in marketing materials in its stores and on its gift cards and shopping bags, starting in late July.
The moves are part of a new set of changes the retailer announced Friday as it distances itself from the controversial sexualized image established by former CEO Mike Jeffries, who abruptly resigned in December amid sluggish sales. Jeffries was at the helm more than two decades. But analysts wonder: if Abercrombie ditches the "sexy," what new marketing gimmick will the retailer embrace to get shoppers back in its stores?
"Abercrombie & Fitch has to find its niche. I don't know what that's going to be. Edgy was it," said Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics LLC, a retail research firm. "You are not going to see totally wholesome, but I think the era has passed it by. They need to do something different." [...]
As sales slumped, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. came under fire for being too exclusive. The outspoken Jeffries had stirred up controversy for statements about how Abercrombie & Fitch goes after attractive kids who can fit into its clothes, alienating customers who don't mirror the brand's image.
The company has posted 12 straight quarters of declines in revenue at stores open at least a year. [...] The company's total sales and net income have also been on a downward trend over the past two years.[...]
shocked it still exists, who even wears it anymore
the only time ill ever go in there is if im desperate to find a pair of pants and i end up leaving because its so dark you cant see ****
Tbh not too much of their customer base is American, many, and I mean MANY tourists come in and buy the merch, mainly brazilians. Usually to take as much clothes as they can back to their country to resell them for profit.
