Abercrombie won't sell to fat people

[Duke87 1,070]

This story has been making its rounds on social media recently. Quoteth an expert on the subject, speaking about Abercrombie's CEO:

“He doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people,” Lewis said. “He doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.’”

 

Positively charming. Yeah, that's totally a productive message to be sending to our youth.

 

(another article)

[Bdub01 201]

That works for me cause I wouldn't buy Abercromie even if I was skinny.

Seriously though if they don't want to make clothes for fat folks, it's a private company. They have the right to decide what they want to make, but all they are doing is hurting themselves in the process.

[Easy Bakes 253]

Do they even make cloths for larger people?

 

And why would you shop there any way?

 

50 bucks for T shirt to advertise for them?
 

[Jasoncw 12,060]

No offense to anyone who wears/used to wear abercrombie but this isn't a surprise.  This is the attitude they have and they're marketing it towards kids who have the same attitude.

[Bipin 3,403]

Hopefully this will drive more people away from buying the anti-fashion they call Abhorrent Abercrombie & Fitch and actually buying far better clothes for the same price from Armani Exchange, Guess, Calvin Klein, Buffalo etc. which are far better designed and of better quality in terms of material. Or better yet, just buy clothes which garner to your unique self-expression from a unique brand you've never heard of with less mainstream, albeit high quality designs (e.g. Kane & Unke, Rag & Bone, Band of Outsiders etc).

[VanGioRobNelli 29]

Not only AF but, Hollister, American Eagle, Aeropostale, etc..  You pay for a shirt, and advertise for them free!  You wash it and it rips!  $50 for a logo?!?!  No thanks.  

[Larks2242 251]

First off I could totally understand.....if they were promoters, but why would anyone want to alienate people who bring in money?

 

From a business standpoint, it is completely incomprehensible. 

[Easy Bakes 253]

Hopefully this will drive more people away from buying the anti-fashion they call Abhorrent Abercrombie & Fitch and actually buying far better clothes for the same price from Armani Exchange, Guess, Calvin Klein, Buffalo etc. which are far better designed and of better quality in terms of material. Or better yet, just buy clothes which garner to your unique self-expression from a unique brand you've never heard of with less mainstream, albeit high quality designs (e.g. Kane & Unke, Rag & Bone, Band of Outsiders etc).

AF is not anti fashion.

[FreewayofFlight 41]

I never liked Abercrombie & Fitch (and Hollister for that matter) because I find them too pretentious and obscenely expensive.

 

If A&F's target demographic are young, skinny, 'beautiful' people to shop in their stores, then they have a right to design their merchandise and promotions accordingly.

 

On the same vein, we all know that Victoria's Secret's target audience are young, skinny, 'beautiful' women, but do you see them changing their business model or products?

 

Simply put, if you don't like it, vote with your wallet and find another retailer.

[LexusInfernus 908]

First off I could totally understand.....if they were promoters, but why would anyone want to alienate people who bring in money?

 

From a business standpoint, it is completely incomprehensible. 

Not really. Its about setting up a certain kind of image, and this image is about some sort of exclusiveness. Lots of companies do it. Though they usually do it by making their stuff so expensive only rich people can afford it. 

 

 

Meh, if a company only wants to cater to the popular kids, its their business. Let them. If you find the practice wrong, don't buy your clothes there. Its the best message you can send them. 

[Bipin 3,403]

 

Hopefully this will drive more people away from buying the anti-fashion they call Abhorrent Abercrombie & Fitch and actually buying far better clothes for the same price from Armani Exchange, Guess, Calvin Klein, Buffalo etc. which are far better designed and of better quality in terms of material. Or better yet, just buy clothes which garner to your unique self-expression from a unique brand you've never heard of with less mainstream, albeit high quality designs (e.g. Kane & Unke, Rag & Bone, Band of Outsiders etc).

AF is not anti fashion.

 

Well, I can't see how a T-shirt that merely has the company logo on it and and seldom anything else is fashionable. Besides that,shorts where you can almost see the bottom of the wearer's rear end isn't exactly tasteful, nor in with the current fashion trends either, given that they've been marketing these ultra-skinny shorts to pubescent girls for years.

[VanGioRobNelli 29]

Also, who wants to buy $90-100 jeans with fading and holes in them! I could do that myself with a razor blade and washing machine!

[metarvo 712]

I wonder if this is why a nearby A&F location closed its doors?  It's not just A&F; the health community has been driving a weight narrative for several years now.  True, health and fashion are two distinctly different issues, but the overlap between A&F's policy and the current health "crisis" is glaring to me.

[NMUSpidey 3,956]

A&F clothing is so expensive because they have an insanely high rate of theft.  When I was in high school, all the cool kids did wear their stuff.  A lot of those kids were poor, and could not afford to buy it.  So, what did they do?  Figure out how to steal it.  Bam, prices up, 'cool' cache enhanced by such exclusive pricing, and they stay happy.

 

Anyways, A&F does not sell Spider-Man shirts.  I am not interested in it unless it has a Tigers logo or some kind of super-hero thing on it.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

Too much fuss over almost nothing.  As a private company they can do as they please.  People don't have to shop there.

 

I am fashionably dressed out of Sears catalogue on-line.  And they deliver.

[Larks2242 251]

 

First off I could totally understand.....if they were promoters, but why would anyone want to alienate people who bring in money?

 

From a business standpoint, it is completely incomprehensible. 

Not really. Its about setting up a certain kind of image, and this image is about some sort of exclusiveness. Lots of companies do it. Though they usually do it by making their stuff so expensive only rich people can afford it. 

 

 

Meh, if a company only wants to cater to the popular kids, its their business. Let them. If you find the practice wrong, don't buy your clothes there. Its the best message you can send them. 

 

 

Its not gonna stop me from buying from them, however I'm more of an american eagle fan myself.

[Superbacon 380]

I don't always wear clothes. But when I do, it doesn't have the company logo plastered on it.

[A Nonny Moose 8,263]

You mean like those five dollar tee shirts with the thirty dollar alligator on them?  A&F aren't the only ones who cater to the magazine models you know.

[Duke87 1,070]

The (perhaps unfortunate) thing is, all this indignation over this story is not going to hurt A&F's business at all, because all of the people who are bothered by it already aren't shopping there.

[ROFLyoshi 1,760]

It can't be just me, but is not exactly the best person to be talking about who looks good and who doesn't?

Either way there are some nice pieces of clothing that I would pay a pretty penny for. Others I would get on the cheap (T Shirts I generally don't pay above 20-30 dollars for), and I usually only buy jeans/pants when I can get 2 for 100. You don't need an extensive wardrobe anyway; all thars needed is mixing and matching.

[LexusInfernus 908]

It can't be just me, but is not exactly the best person to be talking about who looks good and who doesn't?

Really? I think the guy looks pretty good for someone who is almost 70. 

[Flat Raver 59]

This scandal reminds me, for some reason, of this great (NSFW language) song:   More importantly, a certain section of said song: They be like, "Oh, that Gucci - that's hella tight." I'm like, "Yo - that's fifty dollars for a T-shirt." Limited edition, let's do some simple addition Fifty dollars for a T-shirt - that's just some ignorant b**** (s***) I call that getting swindled and pimped (s***) I call that getting tricked by a business That shirt's hella dough And having the same one as six other people in this club is a hella don't Peep game, come take a look through my telescope Tryna get girls from a brand? Man you hella won't

[Larks2242 251]

You mean like those five dollar tee shirts with the thirty dollar alligator on them? 

 

If that is what you are looking for, just go to IZOD.

[Sydney Claridge 106]

All of this ruckus started when Mike Jeffries 2006 interview with Salon.com (for the article "The man behind Abercrombie & Fitch") resurfaced.  Sometimes, old words come back to haunt you, especially in this day and age of political correctness.  Abercrombie & Fitch is having some trouble staying relevant to today's youth, especially considering that popular "fast fashion" stores such as H&M and Forever 21 (who DO market plus-size lines) continue to bite into Abercrombie's market share.  Although Abercrombie has faced similar dilemmas in the past, and always seem to get more attention (and business) from incidents such as this one, I believe that A&F is slowly dying, now that "fast fashion" owns the spotlight in youth fashion retail.

Face it: today's youth want more than just a moose on an overpriced shirt.  Maybe A&F is a "lifestyle brand," but youth will need a chance to interactively participate in that lifestyle rather than simply follow the depicted lifestyle.  And I don't think the A&F lifestyle is one parents or ethically-minded youth will want to encourage, unless they eliminate any sexual references.

[Ocram's Razr 964]

I am borderline obese. Depending on diet and exercise, I have a BMI between 28 and 32. I have been bullied by the beautiful people in real life but also online. Even by privileged members of this site! I never bought from Abercrombie and Fitch and I never plan on it. When I wore size XLT, their XXL shirts (that I was gifted that I had to give away) did not fit me. They were too tight in the waist and too loose in the chest and arm area. Anyway, a boycott by all the people offended by this news will barely do anything because we are mostly outside their target demographic and the sympathetic beautiful people are but a drop in the ocean of stuck-up, pretentious A&F shoppers. --Ocram

[Cob92 360]

A&F is just hilariously overpriced versions of the same SoCal teen clothes that you can find at half the stores in any American mall. Personally, I prefer Aeropostale for that stuff; their prices are much more reasonable and the look is almost identical.

[Mr Saturn64 742]

What they want is a good reputation, but what they are doing is destroying their reputation.