Abercrombie & Fitch Just Grew Up
Earlier this year, Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Mike Jeffries, got in hot water when a 2006 interview started reappearing on the internet. In Mr. Jeffries worldview, women larger than size 10 were not “cool” and so he didn’t include those sizes in his stores. (But he did carry size XXL for men.) You can read the article here: Let’s Drink Coke So We Can Be Healthy and Buy Abercrombie & Fitch!
Perhaps it was all the bad press resulting in buyers refusing to shop at the store in disgust…(You can read a really great post from The Militant Baker here (all pictures were from this post): To Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie & Fitch.
Perhaps it’s because, “sales, earnings and profit margins have been sinking lately. The stock is down more than 25% this year,” according to CNNMoney.com…Perhaps it’s because they realized that 67% of the American population is bigger than a size 10…
Abercrombie & Fitch is going to sell Plus-Sizes in 2014
So now here’s the moral debate. Do you say, “Yay! They are selling to everyone now. Who cares why? The result is inclusion.” Or do you say, “I’m still not shopping there. I know what you really think about women. You’re only letting me in because the “cool” kids told you through boycotting your store that it wasn’t cool to be mean, and you lost money.”
Hmm. What do you think?
Lisa 
- @sheslosingitnet
- http://www.facebook.com/ShesLosingItnet
Sheslosingit.net (c)2013 Lisa Traugott. All rights reserved. No portion of this blog, including any text, photographs, and artwork, may be reproduced or copied without written permission.
On the OUTSIDE it’s an interesting dilemma. My question is, What’s taking place on their INSIDE? If their MOTIVE (the reason behind their decision) is positive, uplifting, constructive, and healing — hooray! If it’s purely to boost their bottom line – boo! The problem? We have no way of knowing…
I wish I was a fly on the wall in the staff meeting that decided to include plus sizes…
It’s all about money for them-that’s it!
I’m inclined to agree that it’s a financial move and not a “lesson learned” one.
I think the declining sales could be attributed to just how dark it is in those stores. Impossible to see anything. Can’t buy stuff you can’t see.
LOL! I never thought of that.
I’m all about you know what you only re thought your opinion when you realized how much business you started losing! Good riddance to bad rubbish. My children will NOT own A&F clothing.
I can appreciate you standing by your moral ground and spending your money according to your values.
Do you want the obese strutting around in yoga pants in the gym? I would prefer when fit girls wear nice gym gear- and the same with nice clothes. I guess this is what this bloke was saying. In the end, if we didnt care about our physical appearance then why bother? Its much easier to eat a tub of icecream or go to the pub.
Anytime I see someone at the gym (whatever their size) I think it’s a good thing. They’re at the gym and not finding excuses to stay home. Plus, it was not so long ago when I was that heavy woman on the treadmill. That said, I can appreciate your honesty about what you find attractive in a woman. Likewise, many women at the gym would prefer to see a guy with a chiseled chest versus someone with a pot belly.
This is a sticky subject. I don’t think the CEO should have said anything about who is cool and who is not. But I also don’t think there is a problem with a brand, focusing on one type of customer. And their advertisements/model should reflect the customer while at the same time attract the customer. example: I am a hairstylist and one hair product line may work great for one client, maybe it is more of a styling line with funky packaging to attract the beauty junky, but this same product may not work for the all natural client who needs more of a treatment product line. Lululemon lately has been having the same problem. The CEO mentioned something about how bigger sized women may not be suited for the clothing sold at lululemon. My sister was so offended that she is now refusing to purchase anything. I, on the other hand, fell in love with their fall/winter collection and don’t care… I bought a couple new things. I am a very petite woman, and while some people are complaining about plus sizes, I have noticed that at Lululemon most of the 2s and 4s sell out the quickest. Why make larger sizes, when they can’t keep enough of the 2s and 4s on the shelf. This may be bad to say, but in most case, most people who are willing to spend $100 on athletic clothing, most likely are athletic.
It’s such a fine line, isn’t it? How does a company cater to their clients without being exclusive?