Abercrombie and Fitch - External Analysis and Internal Analysis

Abercrombie & Fitch is one of the leading clothing companies in the world. They manufacture

Recognized for good-looking, all-American, and typically white male and female clothing models, Abercrombie & Fitch has develop into a special type of model of late-a model of asserted employment discrimination (Stephanie 2005). The clothing idol lately cleared up two private class actions and a civil action law suits by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission ("EEOC") by consenting to compensate more than $40 million to African American, Hispanic, and Asian plaintiffs who claimed that Abercrombie discriminated against them (Stephanie 2005); Abercrombie in addition entered into a agreement with the EEOC recognized as a Consent Decree. In Gonzalez, et al. v. Abercrombie, et al., West v. Abercrombie, et al., and EEOC v. Abercrombie & Fitch Stores, Inc., the plaintiffs disputed that they were either restricted to low visibility, back-of-the-store kind jobs or laid off and fired on the basis of their race or ethnicity.

Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), an American retailer that concentrates on upscale casual wear for young consumers, which was founded in Manhattan, New York City in June 4, 1892 by two young minds of David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch. Beginning with a rough journey of selling sporting outfits and excursion goods such as fishing and hunting equipment, A&F had to file bankruptcy in 1977. Soon thereafter, the company was revived after Jake Oshman, owner of Oshman Sporting Goods, bought A&F in 1978. A&F was relaunched as a mail-retailer company specializing in hunting wear and novelty items, but was bought by The Limited ten years after its revival. The gradual shift to focusing on apparels for young consumers began when A&F was a subsidiary of Limited Brands, and since then, A&F has grown to become one of the largest apparel firms in the United States. In 1998, A&F launched Abercrombie Kids, targeting consumers from age 7-14, which further increases its revenue. In 1999 to early 2000s, A&F’s sales skyrocketed as it hit its zenith, by portraying A&F clothing as the “coolest thing” through billboard-winning song that compliments A&F in the lyrics, as well as other advertisements. Furthermore, A&F launched a subsidiary called Hollister to tackle similar age group of target audience but with lower income. This expansion to dominate the market of teenagers through consideration of other demographic factor, namely income, was exceptional for A&F’s revenue. Presently, A&F focused on

Abercrombie & Fitch stores designs it retail stores from a multi-sensory point of view to get consumer’s to buy there products. Abercrombie & Fitch stores typically is known for its dim lighting, loud background music, and it ambient scents to enable a more youthful clientele and a fresher image. In the store, there are mannequins for both genders that usually runs from the storefront through the middle of the store, which showcases key trends and ideas for the current season. Also, there collections are merchandised to inspire the customer and showcase how pieces can be mixed together.

American Eagle Outfitters is a company that was founded in 1977, that provides clothing and other accessories. There are more than 1,000 American Eagle Outfitters stores that operate in the U.S and internationally. They are known for the graphic t-shirts that they sell. American Eagle Outfitters also sales fragrances, belts, and other personal care products. The financial statements that a company provide are very important. The statements give potential investors the information they need to determine their involvement in a company. The statements also allow the potential investor to know if there is money to be made, and to make sure the money is properly used (Jordanoski, I., 2018).

As alternatives to Hollister, customers likely consider brands located in the surrounding areas such as American Eagle, Forever 21 or Urban Outfitters. The choice to purchase Hollister, however, involves buying into the company philosophy and history. Hollister, similar to other Abercrombie subsidiaries, devised a fictional company history to aid in its credibility and marketing. Abercrombie designed a character, John Hollister, who founded the company in Southern California in 1922 after years of travelling the world. The brand also positioned itself as a sponsor of surfing contests and events in seaside California cities such as Santa Cruz and Huntington Beach. While these creative concepts remained fictitious, they became powerful assets in

Abercrombie & Fitch ANALYSIS REPORT Fundamentals Of Retail Design Group 03 Erik, Herr | I-Chu, Liao | Karan, Shah Kuan-Ling, Tseng | Chen-Hua, Wang ABSTRACT This report intends to analyze the unique brand values, the distinct marketing strategies and the compelling competitive dynamics of Abercrombie & Fitch (A&F), the noted American retailer of casual luxury wear. The purpose of this analysis being to understand the context and motives that drive brand A&F; to draw insights from it‘s past and current strategies and use these to launch a, new sneaker offer‘ within it‘s existing product ensemble. For doing this, we‘ve researched the story of the brand; it‘s original and potential target market, it‘s financial

Threat: Forces shaping the Nordstrom’s strategy is that it is operating in highly competitive environment, where apparel sold by it is not only competing with large organized departmental chains but, also from small independent boutiques in the U.S. As a result competition has become very stiff in retail

You have probably heard the saying, “Quality over quantity” before. In this case, it is not so much as the comparison between how much there is, over how well it is produced, but how well it is produced over the knowledge of knowing the immoral actions influenced by and preformed by the ex-CEO of both Abercrombie and Hollister, Mike Jeffries. Hollister Co. is owned by Abercrombie & Fitch. Both are relatively the same with a few minor differences like their logos and prices. They both target teens and pre-teens and most of their clothing style and colors are the same. The quality of their products is nothing to complain about though you can not say the same about the management and head of the company. In relevance to this, Hollister clothing line is a quality product but even the quality of the merchandise is not enough to sustain its worth when it involves several injustices.

Founded in 1977, American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) is a retailer that designs and develops fashionable girls’ and boys’ apparel and accessories. The company’s target audience is boys and girls between the ages of 15 and 25 years old. The target audience seeks trendy and fashionable apparel product that meets a high standard of quality at an affordable price point. As of the most recent fiscal year, ended January 30, 2010, American Eagle held 1,103 retail stores in total, operating under the “American Eagle”, “Aerie”, and “Martin+Osa” brand names respectively. In addition to the retail stores,

HollisterCo is a beach themed clothing company. It was founded in 1922 by Mike Jeffries where back then it was still not a well-known company until the founder of Abercrombie and Fitch takes over it. It offers a wide range of apparel and accessories for men and women which includes logo tees, graphic shirts, tanks, bottom wear and even sleepwear. It also provides colognes, perfume, gloss products, body care products as well as gift cards. (“Short Title”, 2014). Hollister has 51 outlets in 19 different counties. Hollister also enable buyers from other countries to purchase their products through their online store.

The retailer announced their decision to continue a plethora of store closings after suffering a $63 million loss for Q1 of 2015, worsened by the fact that their losses exceeded the expectations of market analysts (Investopedia). Following the absence of CEO Mike Jeffries as of June 2015, Abercrombie’s stock dipped to its nearly annual low of $19 per share. The company continues to increase promotional efforts while offering uncharacteristic discounts in an effort to lure consumers back into their stores despite weakening profit margins. Abercrombie & Fitch has also furthered its efforts to expand and improve its e-commerce site to develop a more user-friendly shopping experience in the wake of over 200 required store closings nationally. While Abercrombie’s Executive Chairman, Arthur Martinez, attributes the company’s losses to a transitional phase that will likely take several quarters to reflect results of their strategic efforts, analysts continue to suggest that its unlikely consumers will return to the brand despite its new incentives (Forbes Contributor). Currently, Abercrombie’s dismal annual report and small scale efforts to rebrand itself makes it a risky investment option, albeit has potential to improve in the future given their focus on improving their online presence and providing a better return for investors.

In the apparel industry, the American Apparel’ faces stiff competition from the Gap, Urban Outfitters, American eagle, and Express.

Being an upscale industry, Abercrombie and Fitch would appear to be a successful corporation. Although the company was once successful for a number of years, it’s apparent that there has been a significant decline in its overall appeal and how much revenue the company acquires each year. With just over 1,000 retail stores in the U.S., Canada, and Europe, Abercrombie and Fitch has thrived to be one of the most avid corporate extensions.

Abercrombie & Fitch’s corporate leaders have designed policies to mandate personal appearance, manifesting into a