Objectification of men, workplace bullying, age discrimination, appearance discrimination, racial discrimination, sexual harassment of employees, and human trafficking. Former CEO Mike Jeffries received a $27 million pension when he left office, leaving a mess. A&F, an American retail clothing brand that is so bad that it is so bad, has bucked the trend since the epidemic. It is a standout in the general trend of closures in the American retail industry, falling below the expectations of experts. A&F's revenue growth this year is as high as 393.20%, and its stock price Climbing to $174.40 USD.
A&F's brand image has undergone several major reshuffles
Abercrombie & Fitch was formerly Abercrombie Co., which was founded in 1892. The founder, David Abercrombie, initially sold outdoor products in a rough country style, specializing in camping, fishing and hunting products. In 1904, a lawyer named Ezra Fitch acquired most of the company's stock and officially became a co-founder. The company was renamed Abercrombie & Fitch.
In 1910, David Abercrombie left A&F. A&F opened a large department store on Madison Avenue in New York City selling men's and women's clothing, with a shooting range and golf school attached. At this time, A&F took the extremely casual route.
A&F survived the Great Depression of 1920, although sales fell sharply by midterm. It officially filed for bankruptcy in 1977 and was acquired by Limited Brands ten years later. From then on, the route began to go astray. The brand image began to revolve around sexually suggestive objectification and nudity, and it also preferred to use male white models to shoot brand advertisements. During this period, whether A&F Advertising and retail stores feature macho men, and the company culture is broken. Employees' appearance is often criticized by supervisors.
Limited Brands is a large retail group in the United States, operated by Leslie Wexner. LB also owns Victoria’s Secret and Bath & Body Works. Victoria’s Secret has filed for bankruptcy. Wexner had close ties with human trafficking ringleader Jeffrey Epston and was under surveillance by the U.S. government. Wexner slowly cut himself off from the brand. In 1990, Wexner hired Mike Jeffries as A&F CEO.
Jeffries made a big change in the A&F brand image. Large billboard advertisements and shirtless macho models became selling points. A&F became a popular attraction for young girls to check in. There are long queues every day when the store opens, and girls rush to follow. Male models pose for photos.
Jeffries has been plagued by sexual harassment and controversy over its male models and employees, with a former male model filing a lawsuit in court last October alleging that Jeffries ran an illegal sex trade and human trafficking organization during his 22-year tenure as CEO. According to the New York court complaint, Mike Jeffries is accused of hiring a large number of talent scouts to abduct young and good-looking men on the street, taking them to mansions, forcing them to strip and take photos, and transporting them to catwalks and supply shows around the world, including New York, Morocco and the United Kingdom. To the rich man XX, the details are omitted below. The court accepted the case on October 27, when A&F's stock price was only $59.
New female executive turns things around, brand overhaul
After Jeffries retired, A&F appointed Fran Horowitz-Bonadies as CEO. She has extensive experience in department store retail as a merchandiser at Saks and Bergdorf Goodman.
First of all, the brand image that objectifies men and is full of sexual implications is removed. Black and white photos of male models do not appear on shopping bags. The brand's logo has returned to the classic hunting image, and the consumer age group has moved forward, with the post-80s (28 to 43 years old) millennials as the main customer group, and the clothing has returned to the traditional hunting high-end casual sportswear image when it was founded. , developing wedding dresses. Mature customers care about quality materials, choosing softer high-end fabrics, and reinventing classic denim jeans. They use a lot of market research to find the size that best suits the figure of the millennial generation, without being too tight or too loose. Jeffries has a bad image. Transformed into a comfortable and luxurious brand, A&F, once despised by consumers, has returned to its glory days. A Wall Street Journal case study pointed out that A&F is growing faster than Huida and is killing its way out of the AI boom.
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