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Monday, March 18, 2024
March 18, 2024

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Abercrombie name to shrink from clothing

Company adjusts to trend toward having an individual style

The Columbian
Published:

NEW YORK — The Abercrombie & Fitch logo has lost the power it once wielded. Shares of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. tumbled Thursday after reporting weak sales as more teens shop elsewhere.

The company is trying to stock trendier clothing — and it turns out that means stripping off the once-prized Abercrombie logo.

It is a major change for the retailer, whose sweatshirts and T-shirts emblazoned with its name long held major cachet with teenagers. Now, individuality is the name of the game.

“Personal style, specifically with teens, is becoming less about fitting in and more about standing out,” said Lauren Wolfenden, a senior advisory analyst at WGSN, a fashion trend consultancy. “A&F has wised up to this by phasing out the cookie-cutter logo-ed product look and bringing in trendy pieces that can be worn in a multitude of different ways.”

A&F and other traditional teen stores have to adapt in an uphill battle to turn their businesses around as mall traffic drops and shoppers’ tastes change.

A slowly recovering economy is making parents and teens to think twice about splurging on clothes. Expensive standbys like Abercrombie also have lost business to “fast fashion” chains like H&M, known for quickly churning out trendy $9 tops.

Teens are also spending less time at the mall and more time researching and buying on mobile devices. And when they do buy, they’re more likely buying the latest gadget than filling their closets.

Last week, Aeropostale last week reported its seventh consecutive quarterly loss on slumping sales. It also forecast another loss in the current quarter.

At the same time, Aeropostale, based in New York, reinstated Julian Geiger, its former CEO. Earnings at another competitor, American Eagle, have also declined on weak sales.

Mike Jeffries, A&F’s CEO, said in a statement that the retailer has made progress in stocking trendier clothing and said the improvement is “clearly evident” in its back-to-school business.

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