Abercrombie & Fitch

American fashion retailer Abercrombie & Fitch was founded in 1892 selling outdoor goods and clothing. Fast forward to 1997 and the brand shifted its focus to young adults, making a name for itself with sexualised advertising and ‘models’ instead of shop assistants. Abercrombie & Fitch also own sister companies Southern-Californian themed Hollister & Co and underwear brand Gilly Hicks, which closed all stores in 2015 and now appears as a subsection of Hollister’s website. After a number of controversies, Mike Jeffries was ousted as CEO in 2014 and a new plan set in place to overhaul its image and ethos. The retailer is currently shuttering a number of its flagship stores around the world in a bid to revitalise sales. It is also opening smaller-format stores and resizing existing shops across Abercrombie and Hollister. Formerly renowned for its dim lighting and aloof staff, chief executive Fran Horowitz brought a renewed focus on customer service and its loyalty programme, which now has over 30 million members. It currently operates over 800 stores worldwide.

Abercrombie & Fitch store

Latest news and insight on Abercrombie & Fitch from Retail-Week.com

Advertisement