Abercrombie & Fitch : a too exclusive brand
Created in 1882 by David Thomas Abercrombie and Ezra Hasbrouck Fitch, Abercrombie & Fitch was one of the leading brands of the 2010s. However, mismanagement and intense discrimination led to its downfall. Indeed, the brand has suffered many scandals and controversies.
The first Abercrombie & Fitch store opened in 1892 in New York. It was specialized in the sale of hiking gear. In 1976, Abercrombie & Fitch declared bankruptcy and closed its doors for good a year later. The store’s name was taken over in 1979, by a Houston-based chain of stores: Oshman’s Sporting Goods. Oshman’s Sporting Goods finally sold the company name and operations in 1988 to The Limited, a Columbus, Ohio-based clothing chain.
In 1992, Abercrombie & Fitch was taken over by Mike Jeffries, who decided to launch an Ivy League-inspired sportswear line with original communication.
Indeed, the company attracts attention, thanks to its advertising. Abercrombie & Fitch is known for its marketing based on daring photographs. They put in scene men and women half-naked, and the company puts in scene only the employees of its stores for its advertising campaigns. They too are naked.
It also attracts attention thanks to its negative buzz about its lawsuits based on the style of its clothes and its recruitment policy. The company has been accused of promoting the early sexualization of young girls, among other things. In 2011, for example, the brand had to remove from its range a swimsuit aimed at girls “as young as 7” and padded in the chest, following numerous criticisms.
In 2005, Abercrombie had to pay $50 million in a discrimination lawsuit. The company was accused of refusing to hire black applicants and offering them non-visible jobs.
Another scandal erupted when a manager revealed that products returned by customers were systematically destroyed despite requests from humanitarian organizations to recover them. “Abercrombie does not want to let anyone think that anyone, a poor person, can wear its clothes,” said an employee of the brand.
In 2013, a controversy was launched when Mike Jeffries refused to market clothes beyond size 40 because “he does not want fat people in his stores. He wants thin and beautiful people”. The XL and XXL are banned from the shelves.
Finally in December 2014, the CEO of the brand, Mike Jeffries resigned. Since then it is Fran Horowitz who runs the brand.
To conclude, despite an adoration of the brand from consumers, the executives went too far in wanting to target only one part of the customers. They only succeeded in perpetuating racial discrimination, hiring discrimination and grossophobia.
Eventually, the brand began to change its image and nowadays, is turned towards inclusiveness and comfort. But we ask ourselves if they really mean it or they just want to fit to the new generation.
