Reddit's largest men's fashion community. Making clothing less intimidating and helping you develop your own style. We welcome those who want to learn and those who want to contribute. We aim to foster an environment where everybody feels safe and welcomed and where people feel encouraged to have healthy and productive discussions. Note this sub focuses on clothing not hair style, skincare, etc.
Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Jeffries Retires, "effective immediately"
Archived post. New comments cannot be posted and votes cannot be cast.
Sort by:
Best
Open comment sort options
Best
Top
New
Controversial
Old
Q&A
Holy shit, he's 70
It's like, he looks younger, albeit absolutely horrible.
Like Gary Busey meets angry bees
like Gary Busey meets Bruce Jenner
Like a disfigured 28 year old.
He looks like Ron Perlman in Beauty and the Beast.
I think it might be the result of plastic surgery.
Haha, you think?
Well, I was under the assumption that anyone with this much money wouldn't look like a half melted terminator after plastic surgery.
It's pretty common though... N(sure if)SFW... yikes...
plastic surgery
Oh yeah? I thought he just had good jeans or something. Today's pun brought to you by Arby's: when you want to feel like absolute shit.
He looks like he's stuck in a time warp and can't decide if he's old or young so he's both.
I said the same thing.
I refuse to believe this.
It will be interesting to see what he looks like at 90.
the fact that a heritage brand missed out on capitalizing on the heritage revival because sloth was fighting tooth and nail to preserve his teenage boy fixation fantasy land is hilarious to me.
That "heritage brand" was failing miserably until this ravishing asshole rebranded them into a cool teen brand. They made a TON of money for about a decade. Nothing lasts in fashion and this is no different. He's a tool but he had a good idea that worked 15 years ago.
Eh. My teenage cousin who lives in Tulsa Oklahoma thinks that dressing nice is wearing an Abercrombie t shirt. Apparently in the slower parts of the US it's still "in"
yeah, that's the point - because it worked, he wasn't able to let it go when the market changed and it was an easy move to take advantage of it
it's hilarious how you guys think it would have been easy. yeah, just do an u- turn and completely revamp a multinational company, its designs, materials, production methods and store design overnight to follow the latest bullshit trend followed by a bunch of kids on tumblr and styleforum. invest millions of dollars to follow the latest meme trend that will be replaced by some other trend by the time we conform to the current one. the "heritage" style isn't nearly as big as you think. there is a world outside the thousands of mfa/styleforum/internet menswear people, comprised of millions of consumers, who don't follow the latest blog or internet meme style.
ah yes, heritage, the latest "meme trend" that even noted dipshit-website AskMen was tipping it in 2009 (note that Banana fucking Republic managed to get their toes in).
A&f in its 2011 report said that
while relying on a
while simultaneously knowing that they
they continued to rely on a model that, while still making money, painted them into a corner that they could see coming, which is interesting considering that in 2009
suggesting that they knew change was necessary (and has been practically shown to be true given the reduction in reliance on logo-emblazoned clothes and minor on-trend items like introducing selvage into their line-up) but, given the report two years later, shows that they missed the mark - i credit this to the singular vision of Jeffries (all credit to him where it's due) whose success was pretty heavily tied to a specific time.
should a&f gone full heritage wank? almost certainly not. too many stores, too much invested in emerging foreign markets that relied on something resembling Jeffries' vision. Did they know that they had anchors in almost every mall? Yes. Did they take steps to ameliorate that given certain conditions of trend and retail? A little bit. Is it fucking hilarious that a heritage brand that rebranded itself away from that positioned itself so that it missed the heritage trend that's been going on for 7 years? Yes.
Comment deleted by user
Can you think of any clothing company that was able to have enormous success one decade, then pivot and successfully take advantage of the next decade's trends?
Levis ?
that doesn't count, jeans are always popular
Levi's slumped when a&f was at their peak, they weren't able to keep up with trends at the time. However they were able to do it successfully in other decades.
AEO is working on it, if that counts.
J. Crew?
Apple.
Went from being a computer/music company (worth tens of billions) to a mobile company (worth hundreds of billions).
Hell of a clothing company, Apple. Not sure if they can keep it up without Jobs.
Its not that easy. Not even close
It's sad that a company that used to sell outdoors equipment (including putting their names on shotguns) now sells cheap bullshit.
If they want a chance of revival, they need to revamp the brand in its entirety. Definitely follow the demand for reviving heritage brands to their former glory. Maybe A&F could forget the dark spot on its past the same way Harley Davidson forgot when their bikes were being shoddily assembled and owned by a vending machine company.
A&F could start manufacturing in the USA, slowly but surely, bringing in high-qualify flannels, multi-pocket hunting jackets, waxed cottons, etc.
It'll definitely take a decade or more to erase the old A&F image from people's minds.
They've more or less been a name for a bit.
In 1988, Oshman's sold the company name and operations to The Limited
The Limited also own, Victoria's Secret, Express, among many others and seems buy and sell companies every few years.
In the late 80s and early 90s a&f was a very high quality men's store. I still have a very nice silk tie I purchased at Pentagon City Mall.
People are giving him a hard time but when a&f spun out of the Limited there were less than 40 stores and now there are over 1000. Their sales are still about 4 billion a year. Say what you want but that is an amazing run for a retail executive.
Exactly. I mean, look at Nick Wooster and JCP.
You don't build an empire by going into niche menswear, especially at the mall price point. Johnston & Murphy isn't going to do better than its hundreds of stores by stopping its production of ugly shoes and only imitating smaller operations like Rancourt and Alden. Thousands of MFAers and StyleForum members would rejoice, while millions of other customers who don't want that will instead take their ugly purchases to someone like Florsheim.
In this case, it was a business decision. He took A&F from the bottom to the top. Once the decline started again, he's out, because investors want growth. That doesn't mean he doesn't have a huge victory to his credit - he still made it the immense operation it is today.
Damn, nice piece. It's true. The guy deserves credit. His vision is over and someone new is going to need go redirect the brand. I don't see where the brand can go but to do something bold and uniquely American
Yeah I don't buy the, "Growth at all costs" logic. When you follow public whims for short term gains, you forfeit the possibility of truly compelling product that will be around 10 years down the line. I'd say brands making quality product are growing and I would say leading customer behavior as opposed to reacting to it. A&F, Express, Aeropostale, GAP, Old Navy, etc... are in for a reckoning if they think they can still create product based on customer focus groups.
Remember, there was once a day when mainstream fashion was held to a much higher standard than today. Better constructed clothing, attention to fine details, and true artisanship was once the norm. I think that we are returning to this after a nearly six decade hiatus.
The funny thing is that if a&if started selling selvedge jeans and chukka boots the people on this sub would move on to something else. Clothes that appeal to us aren't sold at a&if.
And I am sitting here watching in selvedge jeans and Clark's desert boots as I write this so I am not intending to be critical of the look.
No one likes the truth though.
The limited is now called L brands because Les Wexner, the owner of the brands sold the limited and they asked he change the umbrella name. He also no longer owns express. Just victorias secret, bath and body works, henri bendel and la senza. Fun fact - bath and body works started as a small table inside a limited store and it took off. He builds up brands and then either keeps them if they do well or sells them off, he's owned a lot like lane bryant and cacique.
Source - I work for L Brands
Express was sold off awhile ago.
Maybe bullshit, but it's definitely not cheap.
It's cheap, not inexpensive.
That is actually very false. The raw materials and stitching used are much more durable than something you would get at an Old Navy or something in that price range.
Agreed. got some plaij front shorts from them on super sale and put them through hell. Theyre quite well made.
Aren't those synonymous?
I agree that they need to be revamped, but if the implication here is that they need to sell shotguns once again, I think that is sorely mistaken. I realize that's probably not what you mean, but let's not delude ourselves into thinking that modern day gigantic Abercrombie & Fitch could be successful at all if they went back full heritage mode. It is simply too big of a company to do it. Nobody would buy it. What people say they want and what people will actually buy—in large enough amounts to support a giant retailer—are two radically different things.
For the record A&F has done some MIUSA items AND some waxed cotton outerwear just this year. These are niche items that are cool, I agree... for MFA types... but, let's face it, they don't have wide appeal. The fact is that the customer that A&F wants doesn't give a shit about MIUSA and waxed cotton outerwear. I think A&F would make an enormous mistake to go for some nonexistent Cabelas-but-sexier customer base. A&F can't be a modified Filson. It will not work. Let's face it, there isn't enough money in these things or they would be doing it already on a large scale. A&F has the right customers: late teens/early 20s, as has been their target for 20 years now. They've just screwed up a bit with product and marketing in the past 5.
I used to wear A&F a lot in high school. It used to be my go-to brand. I read an article recently on Esquire about the company and the author said that, for all the shittiness surrounding A&F, nobody can complain that their clothes are poorly made, because, for a widespread mall brand, they absolutely are not. They are some of the best-made mall brand clothes, and that has always been one of their best points. Cheap bullshit maybe if you're used to heritage brands and won't consider anything else. But, for what they do, for the size of their company, and for their target customer and location (better malls), they are absolutely one of the best companies vis-a-vis quality. A&F outerwear, for example, is by and large extremely durable. If they do get their act together, I will definitely consider shopping there again. However, I would be very disappointed if they decided to go heritage mode because 1. it wouldn't work at their scale for the reasons I've already elucidated and 2. frankly, I'm not looking for that from A&F because other companies already do it really well. We don't need yet another "heritage" brand, tbh.
A&F has problems but they have huge potential to come roaring back again gloriously in their segment. They have a certain something about them that American Eagle, for example, has never had.
I dunno about that. The duck dynasty crowd may be looking for higher priced goods, especially if they made pink shotguns for the ladies.
Do you think Abercrombie & Fitch desires to pander to that customer base? I don't think so. Do you think the Duck Dynasty crowd is going to be around in another five years? Probably not.
I don't think they desire to, but I think the duck dynasty crowd are the one left who see value in AF. That and Europeans who don't know about their corporate policy and see it as something neat Americans wear.
Old post but co-signed. Abercrombie stuff is incredibly high quality. Their hoodies are silky soft, their polos fit slim and have thick reinforcements everywhere, and their jackets are beautifully made.
I want them to bring back actual out-door gear; leather and canvas rucksacks etc.
I used to work there (couple years ago) and I noticed in a pair of jeans I bought from them last month that they seem a little thinner than they used to be...so yeah, quality has taken a hit, and they need to bring that back.
I'd also like them to stick to standards when it comes to sizing and not just going with "average".
The sad thing with sizing is that it's still one of the most true to size mall brands out there. As bad as they've gotten, the rest are worse.
A&F sizing is nowhere near true to size. My wife is 5'4" and weighs about 112 lbs. That's fucking small for the average American woman, and she wears a medium in A&F usually, and a Large in some items. That's not true to size.
I'm about the same measurements as your wife and have consistently worn XS and 00's. And I worked in retail for 5 years and have a sister that works at A&F currently so I know sizing. Maybe she's buying too big! I used to buy mediums when I started in retail but was really an XS so it happens.
That's average/medium is relation to how long A&F has been around. The average American being larger today is a new thing. Girls averaged in height 5'4" and were skinny. Then something happened in America.
Comment removed by moderator
It's crazy you mention what their brand used to be. My dad has a denim jacket from A&F that's been in good condition for 20 years. My roommate has a workman's jacket that's about 13 years old. The jacket I bought? Didn't last more than two years...
Not just shotguns. My Grandfather showed me a rifle that was A&F branded. Albeit the A&F of old is not legally the same company today.
If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy 0.1583
Uh... Just so you know. I don't think A&F when I think of MURICA HUNTIN' GEAR.
I hope it never goes back to that. You want Huntin' gear, go to Bass Pro. Putting their names on killing devices was a terrible idea.
Sorry if this is a dumb question but can you explain the term heritage revival to me? I'm thinking simple well made domestic products and Americana work wear type stuff?
you got it
Willis & Geiger, Abercrombie & Fitch, Eddie Bauer...
Each of these heritage brands managed to be around for the "revival", but missed the ship because they were stuck in their ways.
[W&G was picked up by Lands End, so less the brand fault, more Lands End]
Eddie Bauer is trying, but they seem stuck on pseudo-outdoor gear that's as expensive as outdoor brands but not as functional.
The First Ascent stuff is pretty competitive in the outdoor scene from what I've heard, I can't afford any good hiking gear though haha.
I agree. Their down vests are good enough for Minnesota.
But LL Bean is simply better with warranties and quality. And Montbell with a slimmer fit/pricepoint too.
Truer words were never spoken. Okay, that's not accurate, but you're still 100% right.
That's the idea, you can't go truer than 100%. :)
...what!? Preserve what? A&F along with Hollister pretty much cornered the 15-17 year old market for years.
What's "heritage brand" and "heritage revival"? I've never heard those terms before. Thanks!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brand_legacy
Basically brands that have incorporated the history of their company and its initial mission in the company's creation in the selling point of their product.
That sort of idea has become a lot more popular in the past few years (the revival)
I know I'm 25 days late but I just wanted to say this comment is funny and exceptionally well written
I don't think that it has anything at all to do with 'fat shaming'. As the writer tends to rant on about as if it bares some significance, or perhaps as much significance as she apparently wants it to. No teenage kid gives a rats ass about the topic.
A&F took what made them popular in the late 90's early 00's and completely uninspired simply tried to just 'do more of it - ad nauseum'(out douche what we did last year!), with the rise of internet shopping and resurgence in heritage brands and clothing without company logos plastering the front much less GIGANTIC ones A&F fell behind the times. They took what was covert douchey and made it overtly unapologetically distastefully douche earning quite the bad reputation for it. Given their ever rising and unjustifiable price tags, a new youth culture with increased awareness about "being authentic", heritage brands and thrift shopping, and a great recession forcing teens to be more money conscious. It should be no surprise at all that they've fallen out of favor.
Youth culture doesn't give a shit about ethical brands, and if they do it's only ever with a very short attention span, they care about what's "cool" and that changes. A&F didn't understand that they weren't ever standard setters, they simply fit the mold at one point for what was 'in' and willfully ignored new trends dictated mostly by new economic states, especially online, moving themselves out.
This is the real answer. People are overestimating how much their personal distaste for Mike Jeffries or a social media outrage is going to actually affect a company. The vast majority don't give a fuck about these things; it's just that H&M took over the teen market and the style A&F was able to charge a premium for in the 90s is no longer popular.
Interesting you mention this.
H&M astounds me. I get nice vnecks for about 5 dollars. I got an awesome sweater about a month ago and everywhere I go with it people question me.
Just can't be beat. They have many different styles, if you wanna be preppy as fuck, or grungy, or new york, or whatever style you want to gravitate towards it is kinda in there.. A+ for them they really seem to have grown FAST.
I've actually had a different experience. I stop in there every now and then because you're right, their prices are astoundingly low. However, when I try on their clothes, something about them just feels slightly off. I got this really nice button down and a pair of slightly dressier pants for maybe $45 max there at the beginning of the fall. After wearing both for a while, the shirt is nice albeit thin, but it just feels slightly off around the shoulders. The pants are nice too, but through the crotch, something is again just slightly off.
A lot of it comes down to your build, of course. I work out 5 days a week so I have muscle in places that the traditional H&M straight-and-narrow style doesn't respect. That could be a part of it, but something about that place and the clothes always subconsciously keeps me from spending more money than I need to.
Agreed. They are definitely marketed towards the very thin. I am usually a S in most places, but find myself a M in a lot of their clothes (or between the S and M). Going off that point, the biggest complaint most people have about them is their quality control. I love H&M, but I would only buy something from them after trying it on in a B+M store, never online because I never know if the S is going to fit well compared to the M or neither will.
H&M is great at what they do, which is take what is shown in fashion shows and getting it into stores worldwide in a matter of weeks. It's unprecedented and can only be matched by perhaps Zara, although I think even they take a little longer. This is means that H&M is always on the bleeding edge of fashion, and they sell it an aggressive price point. The trade off (and there is always a trade off) is the quality. It's good enough for some basics, but their pieces will not stand the test of time, quality-wise. Which can be fine, because their pieces are not necessarily meant to stand the test of time fashion-wise either. The point is to shop cheap and often, to always have the new look. We'll see how that strategy matches up against low-volume, high-price, high-quality vendors that are becoming more popular.
Their shit falls apart so fast. It's terrible quality, and that's why it is cheap. All the money is put into the style and not the quality.
Mfa likes to shit on H&M quality but in my experience they are the same quality as Uniqlo.
Uniglo is cheap in price and quality.
Uniqlo has a million times better quality control and seems to have better fits on aggregate.
People love Uniqlo for their quality/$ not their overall quality
Comment deleted by user
I don't mind it. It allows me to constantly update the wardrobe for my casual outfits without destroying the bank account. I enjoy the shopping experience though and am never content, so that just might be me.
not to shit on you or anything but the reason the price is low on a lot of their items is because they aren't that high quality. Their shirts can be alright but a lot of their other cut and sew products like shorts or button downs are made with not great material and it shows. I used to wear a lot of H&M but soon realized you get what you pay for. Some of it I still have and wear but a lot of items didn't make it more than a few seasons.
H&M is such low quality though. It's like the IKEA of the clothes market, but even less durable.
Eh, some of the Ikea stuff is pretty decent. Their cheap stuff is as bad as anyone's cheap stuff, but their mid-high priced stuff is better than what you'd find at most retailers for about half the cost.
I agree, I like Ikea's high end stuff, actually a lot more than I like H&M (yes, I know, apples to oranges).
H&M's stuff has never fit me well, and they're one of the stores that has to pin all their clothes back on the manikins to make them look like they're a good fit. At least Abercrombie's clothes don't require tailoring after buying them.
This is possibly the best microcosm of the past 15 years of youth clothing retail.
Comment deleted by user
I don't disagree that the youth is more aware of these kinds of issues (though whether or not they're more effective in changing them, is another matter).
But we're talking about a retail business, I think you're talking at 30,000 ft. while the forces that be in this situation exist in the boardroom on the 45th floor...
Sweet fuck, look at it's face.
We can rebuild him, we have the technology
no, no we obviously do not
...but I don't want to spend a lot of money.
Then H&M it is
I hear he only quit to pursue his lifelong dream of making it into major league baseball as a catcher's mitt.
I heard he played the Albino Orc in LotR
It's like Vigo from Ghostbusters 2 became a Vampire in Buffy.
it's his eyes that makes him look crazy.
TIGER STYLE.
His face lift is terrible, we can all agree. BUT now that I know he's 70 years old, it shifts perspective a little bit.
I was thinking exactly the same. I thought this guy is in his mid 40s with a bad facelift, but 70??? 70?!?!?!?
*its face. And yes, look at that face. Jesus Christ.
That's one face lift too many my friend.
He is living evidence that vagina transplants are not effective or attractive eyelid replacements.
He looks like he's got a tree on his house.
Hi all,
I worked at A&F in merchandising so I was responsible for concepting, helping design, source, manufacture, ship and sell product right the way through from beginning to end. I worked with Mike a lot, presenting to him and have been in meetings with him, and otherwise generally walked past him every single day. I am no longer with the company but wanted to share a little bit about working there. I'm staying totally anonymous.
It's not really that surprising he went, the writing has been on the wall for a while and I think he was just hanging on as best he could. I want to clear up a misconception, Jerffries is actually a really smart guy and pretty personable, but has a slightly tyrannical side. There is no doubt in my mind he knows how to run a company, I just think his ideas and concept for the brand are simply no longer relevant. For the good of the firm, it was the right decision for him to go, and I think Jonathan Ramsden and the new very experienced brand presidents are going to actually turn things around in a much more professional manner.
The company has definitely turned a corner recently, and while the numbers may not show it yet, they are definitely working hard on a long range repositioning of the brand. For the first time ever, they have a marketing director, and actual smart branding and marketing direction. Has anyone looked at the website lately? They did away with the naked torso's and it's now about relaxed, carefree lifestyle shots - a very different angle from before. Let's not forget, this is still a company that turns over 4 BILLION dollars a year, that would indicate to me that a lot of people are buying the products.
Additionally I wanted to bring up the whole "made in America" argument, it's simply not viable. I did produce and ship some product that was made in America. A few problems; there aren't even enough/the right/any fabric mills for products in the States in order to produce the garments. When/if you do have the fabric, the costs associated with making it are so damn high you couldn't hope to make an effective margin without selling it for an obscene cost. Then people will go (and did), "ew that's so expensive" and won't buy it. You cannot win, it's not viable to do on that scale.
Feel free to ask me (almost) anything and I'll try my best to answer it.
I grew up hating everything about A & F. Just checked out your website. I would actually consider buying some of things you had listed. So you must be did something right. Great job!
I felt the same way. I just checked the site because he mentioned it, and I was actually impressed with it. Not only is the style distinctly changed, but the usability of the site has improved.
the brand is still relevant and highly coveted in Asia.
Oh boy, it's a worship relevancy here. 7/10 are in Af and it's some how branded here in Singapore.
I was looking for this comment! Fellow Singaporean here. I find the stark differences in the way Abercrombie is perceived here and in the States really interesting.
Really interesting reading your post, naturally I went to check out the website and I must say I am very surprised. Some of the biggest things that turned me away from A&F was that I just grew out of it, the cost of buying one t-shirt, and the fucking store. Holy shit did I hate going into the store. It smelled like ass (sorry but the fragrance of A&F, although decent, was way overpowering), was way too loud, and most of the time the workers would be of no help if you did not have a size 30 waist (guys). I am curious to see how the rebranding develops within the next 5 years. Though, the website seems way similar to the overall flow of Express.
What about denim? Even denim wasn't coming from U.S. mills?
That was one exception, it was milled and produced I think in Massachusetts, I didn't work on the product but I remember it. Some of the fabric maaaaaay have been imported, I can't recall. Importantly you can actually weave the denim fabric in the US if desired though.
I think they sold for like $200 a pair, and I think overall absolutely none of the products from the Made in America range really made money. Was good marketing though, and a cool project to work on for many people I'm sure.
I have a silly question for you. Please bear with me. I and many others avoid buying clothing with animal products on them. On the jeans and slacks, is the patch on the back leather or a false pseudo-leather with no trace of leather in it?
I'm going to get downvoted to hell for this, but i'm a college student snd wear this brand almost exclusively (in fact..) and am in need of some slacks for winter.
Thank you!
Don't know why you're getting downvoted. I'm not vegan and I own a leather jacket but if I was vegan or was against animal skins in fashion, this would be the place to ask about it.
It's because I admit to wearing this brand almost exclusively.
I think a much better thing to avoid buying is clothing made by what is essentially slave labor in Asia. https://news.vice.com/video/the-high-cost-of-cheap-clothes I'm sure you could contact Gustin and ask if you could get a pair of jeans without a patch. I just think that if you are into heritage you have to expect some animal products to be used in the detailing since that is very much authentic.
The pair of jeans I have is false pseudo-leather patch, but I really like those jeans, the belt loops have a nice thick bevel added to them and the pockets have a ridge on the outside of them ( going horizontal across the pocket not along the seem) that feels quite durable. Can't really comment on the slacks though.
Do you come up with clothing designs yourself or is it more of a hire and approve designs?
What are some variables that go into determining what to sell?
The company employs a massive team of designers of many different kinds to come up with and refine/change designs at quite a fast pace, it's all done in-house which is actually quite rare these days. Mike was very specific about the product and it went through tons of iterations before the final version was produced across a LOT of categories. This haphazard nature of production was quite demanding on merchandising and design however, although a lot of times it can be the difference between something being successful or not, it definitely taught me a lot about my own personal resilience. Lot of long days though.
Most of a product assortment is a data driven decision on what to sell, increasingly as I left the company some of the assortment was becoming fast fashion and driven more by concept and trend which made a lot more sense. It really depends on the product or even gender, not every product category moves as fast as eachother.
If designers are in house, how long do they work there? Do they stay and just keep coming up with ideas?
Generally the designer's brain isn't the source of an idea, it's not like they can become depleted of ideas and then run out and need replaced. They interpret trends and data decisions in ways that are saleable and forward thinking. Of course, employees always come and go and there are many new designers entering the company every year. They are all very talented people.
Actually I did think of them as being depleted once stuff rolled out... Thank you for clarifying the process.
I worked for a company with a lot of "made in America" demand and can second that statement--there simply isn't the capacity to produce clothing of any reasonable quality in the USA anymore. Essentially you'd have to launch your own manufacturing outfit to do it, which is cost-prohibitive.
How long ago were you at Corporate? There was a time in the late '90s where their t-shirts (long + short sleeved) and some of the sweatshirts were actually screen printed. Not the plasticol stuff you see now-a-days. Many of my screen printed shirts are still holding up. Do you know why there was the change?
I worked at Home Office from 2007-2011. The campus was beautiful, the gym was amazing, and the food was incredible. Lots of great (really attractive) people there, too.
Yeah I really liked it, I didn't really like the culture though. I actually found it stressful to be honest, it was like some kind of charade you had to keep up appearances for. It clearly works for them though strategically.
Where are you now? Private message me if you don't want to say publicly.
How did you get into merchandising? When you say most product is data driven, are you referring to LY sales of the company or do you source data from third parties on general fashion trends and competitor statistics?
Thanks so much!
[deleted]
0.3091
Their stuff fits tall thin people really well too. Imo, a lot of mfa is missing out on some decent quality and very available prep-lite clothing.
But A&F clothes are already sold at an obscene price.
$4B a year and an apparently thriving business outside of the US.
The question I have for you is about the downsides of pulling out of so many local malls. In Indiana, there are almost no stores left except for Indianapolis. Although online business is the wave of the future, it was the fact that there was an A&F store, with its cool factor, that helped drive business in the corners of the state, the suburban and rural towns.
Without a "presence" (even if the store takes a loss), its going to be hard to regain market share in areas without a store.
I was a manager at a top 10 store in the country for over 4 years. I too have worked with (in a much less personal manner) with Mike. He is a great business mind, the issue that I've always seen is he teetered on the verge of sociopath. I don't mean that in as negative a way as it may sound...but in reality he was extremely narcissistic and a super perfectionist. In my opinion, this was his downfall. He repositioned the brand into one of the biggest names in that market and practically had people begging to work for him, or better yet a market of teens/20's epitomizing the "lifestyle" that A&F portrayed. We literally had our pick at the cream of the crop of talent, looks-wise, when it came to hiring and it was highly emphasized to make selections majorly based on that distinction. When you walked in there as a teen/20's customer you were envious of the attitude that was emitted in the stores and it drove the desire. Where he failed; however, was being too committed to this philosophy and taking it too the extreme. When I first started there...as a regular employee during my college years...the clothes were cool. Kids wanted to be A&F. Over the years A&F became so obsessed with this idea that their clothing became exaggerated. Too many slogans, logos, embellishments, and general gimmicks. It stopped being the "girl-next door" or the "highschool football quarterback" that everyone wanted to be and became the "flashy bitch" that everyone loathed. It's an example of someone being an over-perfectionist and attempting to single handedly control every facet of a company. He became too obsessed with his vision and was clouded by it, unable to adapt to his customer base.
Did discussion of in store employees ever come up? American Eagle is wonderful about greeting you and helping you through your whole experience, but in A&F one had to ask an employee for help. Every time I go in either store, there is no welcome with a smile, and I wanted to know if it even is mentioned to the higher ups.
I am gonna go against the grain here and say I actually like a lot of there clothes even though they are rip offs of other style and sometimes a little youthy for my 25+ ass. They just plaster A&F EVERYWHERE I MEAN FUCKING EVERYWHERE. There is are barely anything without the moose, name or anything. If they did away with that shit you are actually left with some pretty quality clothing.
Well don't worry, because they recently said that come SS'15 they will be reducing their logo/branding radically for clothes sold in the US and Europe.
Depends on the market. Here in Asia most customers come in expecting A&F to be plastered on every piece of clothing. They look at it as a status symbol I guess.
Source: Impact associate at A&F
I agree 100% I live right next to an extremely touristy A&F in LA and it seems to all tourists in there. Though you should really get rid of the logo and like all trends those markets will follow. If you really have that kinda say cause this article has shown a decline in one of your most profitable markets, 11 years straight now. That's poor leadership, poor foresight on future markets and anticipating growth and change. You can't rely soley on your asian/middle eastern brand centric markets unless you want to lose shares in America. You can successfully mimic trends in the market place which you have previously shown and continue to alebeit somewhat able to keep you a float.
Source:
I amWas a Financial AnalystWow..the A&F Catalog has changed quite a bit
From this
to this
Its not the second one anymore though.
What is it now?
Also, the second one is really... really strange.
Strange, maybe, but I still want to touch penises with it...
The dude is wearing a shirt.
Let's not forget the time they askez Zizek to write shit all over it
NSFW
That was amazing. And this is a sweet look.
that was... entertaining
top fucking lel
The crystal on his hand started glowing.
I think they charge to much for the quality you are getting, I find stores like american eagle to be much fairly priced.. I've bought $30 jeans that still look like they did 2 years and from american eagle and A&F jeans my sister has have fallen apart.
Also, a lot more people are into fast fashion and street wear style which isn't A&F's style.. aside from joggers and skinny jeans. Also the guys and gals willing to spend $$$$ in my generation (I'm 22) I like to think actually do research on stuff they buy.. (would explain why FFA and MFA are pretty popular) and realize there are better buys online or in other stores.
[deleted]
0.9138
Unless major changes have been made, AE denim is shit. Some of the pants I owned in high school stretched by 3 or 4 inches in the waist over a few weeks of regular wear.
They had some raw denim "limited" releases that weren't bad.
Yeah, I have two pairs of now-cutoff Hollister sweatpants that have lasted me the better part of a decade. I gravitated towards Hollister more than A&F in the early to mid 2000s and even worked there for a few years so I wore the fuck out of their clothes. I never had a problem with anything from there.
Ah, see, I have the exact opposite experience. I actually like A&F, even through everything they went through in the media recently, because I honestly believe it's good quality stuff and the fit works great for my body type. I have a pair of jeans that is over 4 years old and they're still my favorite pair. I've ripped Pac Sun jeans, thrown out Levis, and hated how soft my 7's got. My favorite pair still fits great and is good, stiff denim.
American Eagle stuff loses its shape and generally shows a lot more wear a lot quicker IMO.
Hey now, we can't let the homeless be buying Abercrombie and Fitch with those low prices!!!
Nick Wooster for CEO?
Idk why people are hating on abercrombie so much. They should go in the store and see the new items instead of just bashing on the brand. They have removed many of the unnecessary branding already. A lot of things very minimal now. Their quality are not bad either.
I dont know that he's that crazy for a CEO. I will kind of miss him. If a super high maintenance queen who looks like Rocky Dennis can be CEO of A&F why r u not following ur dreams again?
He is one of the few ceos that actually made the company money
Past employee here, cool little piece of information for the younger guys (who haven't read the employee handbook). A+F was formed from a sporting goods store, their aim was quality first and fashion second. There were even points in the company's history where they had an actual campfire in the store (under a draft hood).
Where it turned to purely fashion... idk, but I must say. For being a guy at 5'11" with a 32 inch waist and a 17 inch shoulder... it's hard to find clothes that fit this well. The CEO didn't have to be a douche about it, but if A&F made clothes that fit a "broader range of people" in my height and shoulder measurement... they wouldn't have the spectacular fit they do for me without tailoring every single piece.
If you look at the top 10 designers in the world right now, I believe 7 or 8 of them don't offer XLs... and one of the more popular ladies' designers doesn't even offer a large!
I don't see a problem with the fit making this brand "exclusive" the same way price keeps other brands exclusive. If you work hard to maintain your figure you should have options to reward yourself, just like if you work hard for your money. It's just that... no one likes it when you throw it in their face and say their differences are shortcomings.
What does CEO Jeffries Retires do, though?
It'll be nice to not have somebody so old run such a youth-oriented company. What they really need to do is get LFO back together
One of the members is dead, so that probably won't happen
Holy shit. That guy is 70!?
Ah, so you're the one that was actually deceived by his horrible plastic surgery... looks like it was TOTALLY worth the $60 and LivingSocial coupon he used to pay for it, after all!
I knew he had a ton of work done on his face but I didn't know he was 70. If I had a choice to either look like a monster or a 70 year old, I'd go with the 70 year old. He obviously thinks differently.
Yeah, I think he's clearly afraid of age. It's too bad that the alternative is to end up looking like Jocelyn Wildenstein.
Jesus chirst, that woman scares me every time I see her.
He looks like a barbie
A&F as it existed in my youth was only viable before the internet age. American kids in the 90s bought the corporate manufactured A&F "cool" image because they had no other resources or means to learn about fashion/trends/etc. outside of the local mall. Now with the internet and H&M and other stuff A&F's entire model is obsolete.
I disagree, they have a lot of problems, but H&M quality has nothing on A&F quality. H&M is decent, I shop there, but seriously, it's fashiony junk compared to A&F. For all their problems, nobody can say A&F's quality is bad compared to other mall brands, because frankly, their quality is among the best compared to other mall brands.
That's fair but I was referring to the A&F design and style, at the time of my youth.
Wait, this isn't r/UpliftingNews
No more soft porn?
The Ticket Oak will now stand in his place.
Looks like an ugly Gary Busey.
ಠ_ಠ
This guy sucks.
After the things he has said i was surprised they did not let him go earlier.
When the chain opened in Copenhagen a few years back people were queuing out the door. Now it's mostly empty.
No mutants allowed!
Feel sorry for him. He got chased out by a bunch of retarded fat people.
His cloths were kind of out of style anyway
Can we get some larger sizes now?
Anecdotal experience is pretty much all we people go on.
For instance your model is 2 pairs of jeans, probably built in the same factory anyway, but you've formed an entire set of beliefs around 2 companies based on 2 goods.
Still won't save them.
Despite all their fuck-ups they still make over 4 billion dollars a year. Just because it's popular to hate them doesn't mean they're going out of business any time soon.