A case study that discusses the history, downfall, and rebranding of Abercombie & Fitch.
A Deep Dive into Abercrombie & Fitch
THE ASK
Write an overview of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F) and it’s brief history of the company, stores, target customer(s), annual revenue, and a synopsis of the case and the issues at hand.
THE PROGRESS
PART 1: RESEARCHING A&F
Prior to completing the case study, I wasn’t too aware of the controversies and popularity that rose with Abercrombie & Fitch. When watching the documentary “White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch” I was not surprised at the issues that Abercrombie & Fitch received at hand. To elaborate, Abercrombie & Fitch is an American Retail store founded in 1898 by David T. Abercrombie in Manhattan, New York. The company created apparel for hunters and fishermen for outdoor gear. Currently, the company’s goal is to have an inclusive vision as its brand persona. The annual revenue that Abercrombie & Fitch made before its brand change was $4.5 billion. When researching, I focused on the ethical perspective of Mike Jeffries's position as CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch and the idea of exclusivity being a positive or negative concept. Although exclusivity can be a powerful tool in marketing, properly displaying the message of exclusivity wasn’t taken into consideration. There were many issues that Jeffries mentioned such as body issues, appearances, weight, and 4 appealing to a certain demographic. Let’s take a look and discuss the discoveries I made.
PART 2: THE CONTROVERSIES
While there were many controversies involving Abercrombie & Fitch, I wanted to highlight a few. The impact of Abercrombie & Fitch’s employees, customers, and company varies as discrimination, unfair treatment, and backlash have impacted each sector. Abercrombie & Fitch’s employees were required to follow a strict dress code. “White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch” discussed the success and failures of the company. Nevertheless, a former employee was involved in a lawsuit with Abercrombie & Fitch for wearing a hijab. The employee was Muslim, and the retailer exclaimed that her hijab was violating the dress code due to it not meeting the A+F Look. Thus, the idea of having bigger sizes resulted in not fitting the standard of Abercrombie & Fitch. The impact of Jeffries's behavior on the company resulted in backlash and loss of sales. In addition, its advertising and controversial product offerings also lead to teen body image issues, gender stereotyping, and the promotion of unhealthy expectations.
The A+F Look: 1.) Natural, 2.) American, 3.) Classic
PART 3: VISUAL CONCEPT
The visual components include reading news articles such as Medium, CNN, and watching “White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abrecrombie & Fitch. When writing this assignment my visuals derived from the documentary and images from breaking news sources.
Let’s take a look at the Abercombie & Fitch case study in its entirety.
THE OUTCOME
Although I improved my writing and research skills throughout this assignment, another takeaway I gained is that as a business it’s essential to be ethical and loyal to your consumers in a suitable manner. Jeffries’s controversies and the surrounding financial and ethical hardships are what led to the downfall of Abercrombie & Fitch. From the unethical behaviors of the company to the controversial products and stereotypes, Abercrombie & Fitch is a company that has seen the impact of financial discipline.
