Dear Michael Jeffries,
I hope this finds you well, and that you’re enjoying the $36.3 million “paycheck” you received in 2009! Yeah, yeah, I know your actual salary was only $1.5 million and that $33.3 million was in options awards. So that must mean you plan on sticking around for a while.
Abercrombie is, after all, your baby. After joining the company in 1992, you transformed a staid hunting gear outfit into the most popular teen label of the 1990s. In that logo-obsessed era, every kid wanted to buy into the A&F lifestyle. Girls tacked your Bruce Weber pinups onto their walls, while guys made Abercrombie vintage-inspired t-shirts and madras shorts their uniform.
And your magazine–A&F Quarterly–was beloved by both sexes. Sure, the raunchy photography was an attractor, but compelling topics were also plentiful. The quarterly–which is evidently still produced today, but only for the European market–was filled with articles and illustrations worthy of one of those expensive indie titles you find in the “culture” section of the magazine rack.
But beefcake chic didn’t last forever, and now consumers want something a bit more authentic. Something closer to what Abercrombie was in the first place. Shoppers today are obsessed with value, heritage. If they’re going to buy into a label, they want it to have integrity.
So despite your attempts to capitalize on the brand’s continued popularity overseas, locations in the US have suffered. Last year, A&F saw sales decrease 16% to $2.9 billion. That’s still a lot of money, but you run a public company, which means all those shares you were just rewarded are worth less and less as the company loses influence.
Here’s the crazy part. I visited an Abercrombie & Fitch last year for the first time in a decade, and the clothes, I must admit, were actually pretty nice. Not only were they well-designed and on-trend, they were worthy of coveting. But there’s a few reasons not that many people have realized this. Fortunately, I think I have some ideas on how you can lure your customer back:
1. Get rid of the cologne. Please, please, please stop drenching your bricks in fragrance. The scent emanates out the door, and it’s not inviting. I’m sure that cologne and perfume are big sellers for you, but it’s overwhelming, and a huge turn off. Keep the scents by the register where people will buy them on impulse. I swear I’ve never stepped foot in Hollister on Broadway in SoHo because the stench is insufferable.
2. Let people see inside the damn store! I know you think shaded windows and dim lights give off an air of exclusivity, but it just means no one really knows what you have to offer. (Except stinky cologne.) When I visited Abercrombie at a mall in Pittsburgh last year, I really liked the plaid shirts, the cut-offs, the collegiate rugby-inspired bags. Why are you letting Ralph take your share of the teen market when you were there first? Show off what you’ve got!
3. Lay off on the beefcake. Just for a minute. I know those muscle-men are good looking. And girls in bikinis can be sexy. But it’s a little too stripper-like, you know? Right now, people appreciate subversive sexy. It’s okay to push the envelope, but really, discriminating against potential hires for not looking white enough in Tokyo? That’s a little absurd. I understand that you like to hire people with a certain fresh-faced style. But all this negative press–and the amount of money you’ve had to shell out to disgruntled employees–can’t look good to the shareholders.
So that’s my two cents. Can you save A&F? I think so. But you’ve got to remind people why the store exists. Because they’ve clearly forgotten.
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No worries, we now have a Superdry here
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Hallelujah. I agree. Recently, I stopped in an A&F store, and I was really surprised at the clothes. I actually picked up a few things for my upcoming beach trip; they were well made, relatively cheap, and I looked good in them. Doesn't get much better than that. However, when I told a friend that I had purchased some items there, I thought she was going to die. After encouraging her to go look for herself, she realized that it wasn't so bad. But she still stank when she left.
Their seeming preference for white skin, I'm sorry, “fresh faces,” is reflective of western fashion as a whole, sadly. They also seemed to think their brand was recession-proof and took a while to lower their prices despite other, pricier labels doing so more quickly. Example of American arrogance?
Their clothes are SO overpriced. Even if a lot of the stuff is cute, I would never spend $100 on a jersey tank top
Their clothes are SO overpriced. Even if a lot of the stuff is cute, I would never spend $100 on a jersey tank top
I'm with you on the cologne thing. I have to hold my breath whenever I walk past the local store. In very subtle doses the scent is probably inviting, not to mention arousing (pheromones, anyone?), but when you can smell the cologne 30ft away from the store's entrance, it becomes less of a scent and more of a stench.
3. “It's okay to push the envelope, but really, discriminating against potential hires for not looking white enough in Tokyo? That's a little absurd.”
A little absurd? It's more than a little absurd. It's downright foolishness. And Tokyo isn't the only place this has happened. I have a lot of black friends (very attractive mind you – which is also a [slightly understandable] requisite to be hired there) who have applied to A&F and had the qualifications to work there (which isn't asking much, as the case may be) and have been denied on the basis (at least we believe) of their skin color. It's a mess…I just have a big issue with the lack of ethnic variety that I see (barely, because of the dim lights – great point, BTW) when I walk through their doors.
I haven't been in there lately, so I can't speak about the quality…but how is their quality in comparison to, say, H&M, Gap, J. Crew, or Uniqlo – granted, 4 different companies, but all targeting roughly the same market.
BTW, their colognes don't stink. I rather like some of them, in fact. They remind me a lot of California. They just spray too damned much of it…
IAN IT WAS SARCASM. Of course I think it's absurd! It's awful, and that's why Abercrombie has been sued a gazillion time. Thanks for sharing your experience.
*opens mouth wide, inserts foot*
:D
My bad, babe…!
:)
I've actually watched staff members of A&F walk around with a bottle of cologne and spray all of the clothes on display. it's a nice cologne, but when you can smell which section of the mall A&F is in, it's too strong
Lauren, decent points, but I still wouldn't shop there. My suggestions would be to lower prices, authorize staff members to give better customer service and take their huge logo and name off of everything.
I had a couple friends work there in high school and they were pretty much told not to help or talk to customers. Pair that with prices too expensive for the teen/young adult crew and wearing a name that's becoming increasingly less popular and you've definitely got a recipe for a decline in sales.
Yeah, I've heard that, too. Good points, thanks!
I forgot Abercombie existed until I read this article. Like really. I'm African American and Abercombie has never appealed to me. They are everything that Lauren listed. I wouldn't be caught dead in their clothes. To me the clothes are decent looking but everything looks the same. It's the same polo and khaki shorts over and over again and even worse it's waaay overpriced. Sorry I never have and never will be interested.
Oh god, just walking by the Soho store is embarrassing. If A&F still had its former it status, the boys standing by the door in nothing but swim trunks might not look like such a perfect combination of awkwardness and straight-up douche, but the brand just has no cachet anymore. There's just no dignity to it.
A&F will never be cool enough to do this
http://i843.photobucket.com/albums/zz360/taytro…
YESS!! I completely agree. I was one of those middle/high schoolers that was obsessed with anything that had a moose/seagull on it. After other stores like forever21 and h&m got popular I completely stopped shopping at A&F because I thought it was just ridiculously over priced. Last weekend I finally went into an Abercrombie after probably 3-4 years of vowing to myself to never spend $40 on a graphic tee with a cheesy logo and actually saw some really cute, well made knit tops and jeans. Their jeans were on sale for $29.99 and i bought myself a really cute destroyed pair as well as a motor cycle jacket for $20.00!! I agree completely they need to have wide clear windows like forever21 so that people will actually SEE what kind of clothes they sell as well as being a little nicer…
i work at hollister, and these points are very good points. 1- i myself gag on the amount of cologne they spray and it took some getting used to the lighting working there. we get sooo many complaints about this everyday! 2- surprisingly, my store is pretty diverse in employees [im african american myself] but i guess it is still a very big issue at other stores/in other countries…its just a part time job but i feel ashamed when i hear about that =/ 3- TOTALLY agree on the overpriced clothing, but there are always ppl that just buy it…
Great letter! I agree, the entire atmosphere of that store needs to change. The darkness is to dark, the smell is WAAAY to strong, the walls have a little too much “beefcake” for my liking, and I know this wasn't mentioned but: The music is annoying and too loud! Shopping is hectic enough, no need to attack 4 out of the 5 senses we have. I refuse to enter this store because it's all just too overwhelming.
and the music is so bloody loud! I can’t stay in their longer than 20 minutes because of the blaring music… so i walk out with nothing even though I spotted a few items I wanted to try on. it’s a store not a dance club.
i like to sleep with abercrombie boys. they're hot and they give me free clothes
I went to Abercrombie twice. First, the insuffurable store on 5th ave, in NYC! I went as a request of a friend. Ridiculously enough, I had to wait in line! It´s way too crowded! Inside, you can barely see anything because of the lights and the crowds. The music is too loud and the perfume… god the perfume is the worst part! It's too strong and it made me hate the experience even more. Finally, I just sat down, covered my nose and waited for my friend to finish shopping. A couple months later, with some reluctance, a foreign friend asked me to pick up some things for him over there. I decided to go to the one Downtown and the experience was a little better, but still… I plan to live a happy life without ever setting foot at that store again!
Oh yeah! The huge logo on everything just turns me off.
I don't care much for A&F, but thumbs down on the noisy and obnoxious pop up ad for car racing, or motor oil, or whatever it is. Yuck.
We have a store here in London on Savile Row of all places.
1) The shop is so dark you cant see anything including where you are going.
2) The music was so loud I wasnt able to speak with my friend.
3) The staff would have been attractive if they had smiled or tried to help at any point rather than perfecting that far away stare I presume for their next catalogue modelling job!
4) I have no idea what the clothes were like. I didnt get the chance to look at any.
5) The shop layout is so bad you have no idea what clothes are for Men, Women or Kids! Awful.
6) There is normally a queue .. self created by the door people! inorder for the shop to look busy.
7) I was shocked to see the full remuneration package the CEO was paid by the board for 2009.
8) If I wanted the urban cowboy look Id goto Tommy Hilfiger
I didnt notice the smell.. it was a while ago
Personally I dont and wont shop their, its aimed at a much younger market which is why I can forgive them the above. I dont get it.. but then am I supposed to?
ROGUES GALLERY
amazing heritage
i find it very interesting that a store that is known to be racist and discriminatory is now so popular among the same group it discriminates against. i went home to my old neighborhood mall and all of the kids were clad in a&f, hollister (owned by the same company) and american eagle. i mean ALL of the kids. when we were coming up, we thought those stores were too prep and only our white peers shopped there. different story now. my niece turned 12 and all she wanted for her b-day was something from one of those stores. i obliged because she's a kid. and she's just “in” as i once was and wanted to be. but personally, i hate the idea of spending money at any establishment that doesn't treat me correctly.
aside from that they are ridiculously overpriced (and yes, i realize that i sound like my mother).
Great open letter (you could have told him about something called aging gracefully, but hey, you're probably trying not to be mean).
The quality of the clothes is there – but the stank of the cologne keeps me away. you can always find things that are not logo'd too much, are basic and feel kind of Ralph for less money. But the darkness is rediculous. Yes the store is stocked with boys to look like a Bel Ami film, but that's not exactly a drawback.
Oh man I love it when sales assistants leave me alone to shop. If I need help, I'll ask for it but the last thing I need is some blonde stick insect helping me find my size.
I worked for the company for quite some time. While I agree with what everyone says on most points, and def. feel they need to make drastic changes to increase sales, profits and their stock prices, I have to point out that any one who says the employees were told NOT to help customers are straight out lying. That is one hundred percent false. The problem lies in hiring a staff who has no experience in retail based only on their looks. As managers, customer service was definitely supposed to be enforced, it just was nearly impossible to find anyone on the staff that actually cared about anything other then trying to hook up with other staff members.
I completely agree! I don't go near those stores because they douse the place with cologne every 15 minutes. Gross.
In fact the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics just released a report yesterday that revealed A&F fragrance has secret toxic chemicals in it. Double gross. Check it out at http://www.safecosmetics.org/notsosexy
Example of A&F arrogance. Blanket statements are almost always wrong.
A&F has been in trouble loads of times for discrimination, against non-whites…that's public knowledge.
I didn't know about all the discrimination stuff because I NEVER shopped at A&F until one day I decided to walk in with my BF. They asked me to work there, and so I got hired and someone told me that the only reason I got hired is because 1) I'm dark skin (I'm African-American and they NEED Diversity) 2) I have the skinny “European” body frame (Because they ONLY hire skinny girls) and 3) because of they way I look (apparently they ONLY hire “pretty” people). When I heard about all this I felt so uneducated! I didn't think it was still that serious! I feel bad when I see people applying to work there because even I know that they won't get hired for not meeting A&F's high discriminating standards! I'm still the only black person at my A&F store and that probably won't change anytime soon.
I agree about the excessive use of the cologne (I go home smelling like the store every time I work) and the clothes are indeed expensive. A classic shirt from there is WAY over priced! I shop there ONLY because I work there and receive a discount.
I pretty much agree completely with everything in this article and I haven't shopped at Abercrombie in a few years, but for some reason, I feel compelled to defend the company against this one minor argument.
I worked at Hollister in high school and occasionally had to work upstairs at A&F (as A&F owns HCo) and what danikrist said about not helping customers is definitely wrong. Maybe friends were told that by their manager but we would definitely get in trouble for not giving customers our full attention and trying to help them to our best ability. Our stores also hired blacks, Asians and even (the horror!) slightly overweight people. (Yes, that was slightly sarcastic! But, really, our regional manager was all about diversity.)
Mike Jeffries is an asshole and I think everyone working under him agrees on that to an extent but much of the discrimination and poor customer service is on the part of individuals, not the company as a whole. Just throwing that in.
I am a 14 year old girl, and I remember 5th grade when I got my first Abercrombie polo for Hannukah. It brought me to tears. The material is so tight and clingy, that only stick figures look good in it. People consider me a pretty thin girl (but not in the stick figure way), but I have shape and I have not stepped foot in an Abercrombie and Fitch for a year. Trying on one of there things makes me feel fat. And wearing a higher size does NOT help- the material is just as clingy and unflattering, only slightly longer.
My suggestion? Make the clothing LESS CLINGY. They exclude the normal sized people, and I might buy more things from Abercrombie if they, I don't know, actually fit me!
In response to number 1/4, a few years ago I bought shorts from there, thinking that they were pale blue and pale pink. Nope, they were red, green and blue. I swear, I am not color blind!