Abercrombie &

Fitch Co.
Company analysis
 Agenda
 Company Overview
 Business Description
 History
 Industry and
competitors
 Unique Sales strategy
Company Overview
 Specialty retailer that sales casual apparel
 Operates under 5 brands: Abercrombie & Fitch,
AbercrombieKids, Hollister and RUEHL and Gilly
Hicks: Sydney brands.
 The company operates in the US, Canada, UK.
 Operates 1039 stores worldwide (February 2008)
 80,100 employees
 WhatAbercrombie and Fitch
brands are you familiar with?
Abercrombie
 Established July 1998
 7-14-year-old age group
 170 stores in US
 “Classic cool” theme
 Logo Moose
Hollister Co.
 Established July 2000
 14-18-year-old schoolers
 455 stores in US and Canada
 Theme “SoCal”
 Logo Seagull
Abercrombie & Fitch
 Established June 1892
 Targets 18-22 year-old age group
 357 stores
 Theme “Casual Luxury”
 Logo Moose
The RUEHL
 Established September 2004
 Targets 22-35 year adults
 Operates 22 stores
 Logo French Bulldog
Gilly Hicks: Sydney
 Established January 2008
 Operates 5 stores
 Targets 18 and up
 Logo Koala
 Theme Australia
History
 David T. Abercrombie established Abercrombie
Co. on June 1892
 In 1904 wealthy Ezra Fitch became a co-owner
 In 1909 issued and mailed 50,000 copies of 456-
page catalog
 In 1917 A&F became the largest retailer in NYC
that sold sportswear
 In 2006 A&F opened its first store in Canada, In
2007 first store in UK
Industry and Competitors
 Retail Industry (Special Lines)
 40,000 companies operate 90,000 stores
 Summarized annual revenue $130 billion
 Dominance of large companies
 Slowdown in spending on clothing
 Labor-intensive industry, high demand for qualified and
skilled sales reps
 Two main sales seasons- fall (main for A&F) and spring
 Whatare Abercrombie and Fitch
main competitors?
Industry and Competitors
 Gap, Inc., The
 Target Corporation  Tommy Hilfiger
 Gap, Inc., The Corporation
 Limited Brands  Urban Outfitters, Inc.
 American Eagle  Wet Seal, Inc, The
Outfitters, Inc.  Aeropostale, Inc.
 Benetton Group SpA
 Competition

Abercrombie & American Eagle The Gap

Fitch
Established 1892 1904 1969
Revenue (billion 6.91 2.8 16
USD)
Number of 1039 697 3139
stores
Employees 80,100 20,600 150,000

Scope of US, Canada, US More than 19

operation UK countries
Unique Sales Strategy: IMC
 High integration of Marketing
efforts
 Recruits high energy “brand
reps” largely from college
campuses who dress in A&F
 Issues subscription catalog –
A&F Quarterly (350,000
Americans has subscribed)
 Issues “magalogs”
Unique Sales Strategy
 Emphasis on high level of
service, quality, brand
image

 Targets Generation Y

 Positioning strategy
involves the use of overt
sexuality advertising
appeal
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dqEcKcadUE&NR=1
Unique Sales Strategy: Store Layout
 comfortable armchairs
designed
 Large photos on the
walls
 extremely loud,
energizing trance and
dance songs
 dimmed light
 unique A&F’s scent in
the store
Unique Sales Strategy: Web site
 Allows to download
music, e-post cards
 Provide useful
information, FAQ
 Shop online
 Watch Abercrombie TV
 Create ANFMail
accounts