Before I get started, I’d like to say one word about the earthquake in Nepal. “Tragic.”
Now back to what else is on my mind . . .
In a daring move to bolster twelve-straight quarters of sagging sales, Abercrombie & Fitch is telling their overly-photoshopped male models to put on a damn shirt and cover-up those rippling coconut-oiled six-pack-abs.
It is about freaking time.
Those ads were selling nothing but sex to teenagers. I saw a gigantic billboard of a young man who was seductively leaning against a wall. His head was cropped off and he was bare-chest. Ironically, the only Abercrombie clothing shown on the billboard was two inches of his boxer shorts and three inches of his jeans with a semi-open fly.
Who was the target audience of that ad?
Certainly not teenage boys in the market for jeans and undies. . . but it drove prepubescent girls to plead with their mom to drive them to the nearest mall.
When our (now adult) daughters were at the impressionable ages of 10, 12, and 14, Abercrombie was THE place for kids their age to shop. If you didn’t wear Abercrombie, you were likely to find yourself ostracized and have to eat your lunch all by yourself.
As their mother, it was painful to witness the peer pressure.
I fell victim to our girls whining, begging, and crying and would take them to Abercrombie. I would bravely enter the store for a good two- to three-minutes and then quickly exit to find a bench where I would wait out the ordeal in peace. Unfortunately, the bench was never close enough to an establishment offering adult beverages.
Why would I race out of the store in search of a bar?
1. The music in Abercrombie is louder than an Iron Maiden concert with the amps turned to roughly the same decibel as a fighter jet upon takeoff.
2. They have scent machines that infuse the air with a sickeningly sweet Abercrombie perfume. It makes it hard to breathe and their trademark scent stays in your nose for days.
3. The clothing is ridiculously expensive and so poorly made that even teenagers in developing countries would say, “I’m not wearing that crap even though I made that stupid shirt.”
4. Larger-than-life photographs of scantily clad young men and women throughout the store make even Olympian marathoners have body image issues.
5. The salesclerks are the Abercrombie & Fitch version of the Stepford Wives. Identical, beautiful, and with a combined Body Mass Index equivalent to that of Kate Moss.
6. At special events, or at the drop of a hat, Abercrombie festoons their stores with shirtless male models who mingle with the customers. It is like a teenage version of Fifty Shades of Grey. As they say, sex sells.
7. Also, it was rumored that Abercrombie doesn’t make their clothing in sizes larger than “anorexic” because they don’t want anyone larger than Twiggy wearing their brand. It would ruin their image. The CEO vehemently denied the allegation, but I know from firsthand experience that Abercrombie’s size “extra-large” looks like it shrunk in the dryer.
Let me tell you the real reason Abercrombie’s sales have dropped so drastically . . . like many other parents, I was the one with the credit card in my pocket and was ready to spend money. But it was so bad that I had to leave the store (see Numbers 1 through 7 above) and shopped elsewhere.
They marketed to the kids, but Misters Abercrombie & Fitch forgot who might be paying for their merchandise . . . the parents. The girls may have resented it at the time, but I bet if you were to ask them today, they would completely agree with me.
I’m not a prude, but I applaud Abercrombie’s decision to stop gratuitously targeting young men and women with racy ads and catalogs, eye-candy salesclerks, and beefcake models.
According to a retail research firm, “Abercrombie & Fitch has to find its niche. You are not going to see totally wholesome, but I think the era has passed it by. They need to do something different.”
Thanks goodness. To bastardize a line from my favorite movie, Young Frankenstein, “Those abs in the ads are Abby Normal.”
My uncle did some modeling in the 40s. Now THAT is a what a male model should look like!
Hubba Hubba
As an encore, my next rant might be about Victoria’s Secret and what they are doing to women’s idea of what their bodies should look like.
Robin Coyle 
Those store smell awful. I never liked going in them for that reason alone. Plus the trashy ads didn’t improve my opinion of that brand. There’s nothing to recommend this brand, yet it has made millions. Makes me sad: I hate to see hype trump quality. Yet that is exactly what Abercrombie & Fitch has done.
Well put . . . “hype trump quality.”
Have you heard about the trend of more businesses starting to use thse scent machines? Banks, hotels, airlines, etc. Ugh. We stayed in a very nice hotel in New York City but their beautiful lobby reeked of their trademark scent and we couldn’t enjoy hanging out in it. I don’t understand the purpose or benefit of doing that.
I’ve not heard about adding scent to lobbies. I won’t like it. Sounds like a waste of money to me. Not to mention kind of tacky, like a Glade room freshener on steroids. How un-nice!
Yeah, it is gross. The scent assaults your senses. The worst are Las Vegas hotel lobbies infused with perfume AND cigarette smoke.
Yuck. Good to know this, but…
Luckily for me, my two kids aren’t into A&F clothing. They’ve never even asked to go into the store. They’re actually more Land’s End and LL Bean type kids, as most of their friends are.
I did go into an A&F store to shop for my teenaged nephew and I was so sure alarms would go off. I felt completely out of place, and so I walked out and got him something from American Eagle.
I applaud this decision too, but I’m skeptical it’ll save sales. Will be interesting to watch.
I am skeptical about their ability to turn around their sales slump too. I’m sure they are doing all kinds of market studies and focus groups to help figure out how they are going to reinvent themselves. I bet they try to do something like Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie.
Not a store you would ever find me in! I’ve been known to rant about the entire fashion industry with its anorexic models. To me, they look like prepubescent boys. That’s what “normal” adults are supposed to find sexy? I don’t think so!
It will be interesting to see how they reinvent themselves and if they are able to recover from the long slump in sales. The uber thin female models gross me out. Nothing sexy there. Who would want to hug a bag of bones! The epitome of sexiness, Marilyn Monroe, was a size 12!
I have never been in an Abecrombie store. The nasty, stanky perfume was more than enough incentive to make me keep my distance.
I’m glad to hear that their half-assed business model is failing.
Oh, and your uncle is one snappy dresser.
He was a snappy dresser and a great guy. I adored him. Still do.
That Abercrombie perfume was awful. I hear that many businesses are starting to use those scent machines, like airlines, banks, hotels, etc. Ugh. It is an assault on one’s senses.
On a side note, I am signing up for a Writers Digest webinar on how to get an agent. It also includes a query letter critique by the agent who is putting it on. She reserves the right to ask for a partial (or whatever) if she likes what she sees in the query. It might give me the confidence I need since you refuse to write my query. 🙂
I do refuse to write it. But I am happy to critique it. Sheesh! 😉
Good luck with the webinar, my friend!
You are one stubborn man. I still love you, tho.
Aw!
Don’t know the store but definitely would not enter it….
If there is something that can cause a destructive streak in me it is magazines that share ads with woman that look like they’ve been pushed through a re-sizing machine that just takes all the meat and crap out of them and leaves just enough for them to live… when I see these I want to offer to buy them a meal…
Hell whatever happened to the shape of a woman… ?? I know women don’t want to seem over weight, but I’ve seen better looking women with maybe too much meat, than those with none…
I love a woman with shape, that’s how God designed them…
Amen to that! I love your line “pushed through a re-sizing machine.” Photoshop is making a fake reality. It is a shame. And it distorts what girls think they should look like.
It’s quite uncomfortable shopping with young teens these days. No way in heck I’m going in that store. My gals stayed away but the sexy ads are still in their faces. I look forward to you VS rant.
Hubba hubba, indeed. What a very classy and attractive Uncle.
I miss Mitchell so much! But I do talk to him every day. That is nice. You know what? He talks back. We have lovely conversations about the garden, the show I just saw, and the damn dog. He is sitting by my side. I’m not weird that way, but he is.
I used to shop A&F when they still sold European adventure gear. Fly-fishing equipment and safari clothing. My how things have changed. Not for the better.
They should go back to that! THEN i would shop there! I love safari clothes! I rock khaki!
Never being a brand person I was unaware of these practices. So glad to hear they are changing their marketing strategy…hopefully to something better.
Sounds like they are wising up. That store annoys me! I hope they find a place in the market that makes sense. I probably still won’t shop there. Bah humbug. Yep. That is me. Scrooge.
Spot on Robin! I am proud to say I have never bought anything in that store….for all the reasons you have listed above….and neither have my daughters. Of course they discovered Nordstrom……
Nordstrom is a dangerous place! They love me.
I have never been a brand buyer. I saved my money for other things. My daughter thought me a total embarrassment. As a single mother, I couldn’t afford fancy brand names and food on the table a.n.d. a roof over our heads.
Nice to see you back. Great post, Robin.
Thanks, Tess.
Isn’t it a mother’s job to be a total embarrassment to their children? I’m pretty sure that is in the job description and manual.
I never saw that manual but I guess I managed to write my own. My daughter has finally succumbed to shopping at second hand stores but only the best brand names at a fraction of the price. Go figure. She’s better dressed as are her children–at a fraction of the original price. They may be picking up last year’s deals but at least it’s all lightly worn clothing,
I never saw that manual either. ‘Tis a pity. But I muddled my way, like you. And I think our kids are the better for it. Seriously.
😀 😀 I.n.d.e.e.d.
WOW what an uncle (in an age where “classy” meant something glamourous and desirable)
I predict this store will disappear. It’s live longer than many ‘Trendy” brands. The stuff wasn’t so bad when the chain first started, but as you say, the advertising drew in many (so with image/big customer base built , they could cut quality – which they did and still priced stuff high.) College kids was the first market (they generally had more money and would nag parents to pay more), then the college kids drifted off in our area as the high school kids wanted to copy the college kids ( and quality sank big time), then my daughter stopped looking at them because so many middle school and even younger kids went for the tiny sizing. And there were moms shopping there. (kiss of death those baby carrying moms )
Hasta good riddance. May questionable/suggestive marketing photos disappear along with them.
There will be a void – for a bit. Not much hope to slow the downward spiral in marketing
I didn’t know until I did this post (prompted by an article in the paper) that Abercrombie started out as a retailer of hunting apparel. It will be pretty hard for them to stop the long downward spiral they are on. You can bet that when they find their new niche, I’ll be blogging about it!
Tagging on to your comment about my uncle, classy is waaaaaay sexier than in-your-face skin. He was a handsome man, eh? You should see the photos of him in his Navy officer’s uniform. Man!
There is something about the easy swagger that generation had.
About ten years ago I went into that store. I had no idea about it beforehand. Such loud music and so dark inside. But I did find a great pair of pants, and the sales clerk was nice to me. Or so I thought she was. For all I know, she later made fun of the old lady buying clothes in the teen store. But honestly, I didn’t even realize its demographic at the time. We had just moved to the area, and it was the first time I encountered the store. What a dork I am. Haven’t been back since now that I understand more about the store.
I bet you rock those jeans, tho!
I forgot to mention how dark the stores are. You need a flashlight to read the prices!
Ha, yes, there’s no way my crappy eyes could see them now!
Thank goodness for the flashlight app on my iPhone. Especially in restaurants. Good grief. And where are those darn reading glasses?!?
I’m so glad to hear you use your phone flashlight in restaurants too! My kids make so much fun of me when I use it to read the menu. Thought I was the only one.
If you whip out a magnifying glass, that will be when they REALLY make fun of you.
Too bad there’s not an app for that.
Ha! There probably is an app for that.
Wasn’t their policy “If you have to read the price, you are in the wrong store?”
Hey I got some great shorts (many many years ago) Was able to ignore the twiggy sizes, but a tad annoyed the staff was so busy being cool it was hard to get them to take your money…lucky my daughter or I’m sure I would have been invisible
I must’ve got them on a good day. 🙂
Frankly, I think my girls were happy I waited outside the store so as not to embarrass them to death.
You were the “good” mom!
Yeah, sexism is discussed quite a bit at my son’s school. A few weeks ago when we were traveling and we had a TV in our hotel room, he chose to watch a show called something like THe Pool Guy, where some crazy man designs and builds pools for people who have lots of extra money lying around. While watching a commercial, my son said: “Why do they always have girls in bikinis hanging out at the pool?” Then he answered his own question: “Because they think a woman is an object to own and look at just like a pool.” Ah, wow. Glad something is sticking. I think it also helps that he’s not exposed to a lot of advertising since we don’t have a TV. Oh, and he’s a boy who doesn’t really care what he’s wearing as long as it’s sweatpants. We are sooo lucky! Except when it comes to spending money on Lego, gadget-building equipment, and sporting gear. 😀
What a wise and sensitive son you have! I am impressed. Maybe that is another reason sales are slumping for Abercrombie . . . kids are becoming turned off to over-sexualized media. But wait, that doesn’t explain the Kardashians, does it. I’ll never understand their appeal.
I understand you need to take out a second mortgage for Lego sets these days!