How Abercrombie & Fitch reinvented itself and found success

It’s singles season in America.

A few months ago, I was at one of these parties in Florida: nine women, one house, and countless group activities that required attire. Strange things started happening. Almost every time I complimented someone on an outfit—a beautiful jumpsuit or a suit—they would respond, “Thanks, it’s from Abercrombie.”

wait, Abercrombie & Fitch? Dark store in the mall Smells like cologne The salespeople there were hot, white, and barely wearing anything? What year was that?

After returning to New York, I stumbled upon an actual Abercrombie store and decided to check it out. The first thing I noticed was that it had no smell. No smell at all.

Then, I was impressed by the dresses: very good quality, reasonably priced, and the styles would fit the 86 weddings I would be attending over the next year.

I bought a dress for my engagement party and then went to a softball game in Central Park with some old coworkers. One of them noticed my shopping bag and told me that I wasn’t the only one who had rediscovered Abercrombie.

Many people began to rediscover this brand, so much so that its stock was quietly reduced. get It rose 285% last year, making it the best performing stock in the S&P 500. beat AI chip maker Nvidia. This isn’t just a meme stock: Abercrombie has generated Over $4 billion Revenue from the previous fiscal year.

So how did Abercrombie pull off its amazing resurgence without attracting attention?

This is not the first time Abercrombie has returned. As one of the original American clothing brands, Founded in 1892and was worn by everyone from President Theodore Roosevelt to Amelia Earhart. But the company’s star turned, eventually Filing for bankruptcy 1976.

Then, in 1988, get Run by The Limited, owner of big mall clothing brands like Victoria’s Secret, the company has a new CEO, Mike Jeffries, at the helm. Jeffries has made Abercrombie a mall staple, targeting a new teenage customer base with preppy American clothing and new ultra-sexy styles.

“In every school, there are cool and popular kids, and there are not-so-cool kids,” Jeffries said. Tell Salon in 2006. “Honestly, we were fashion kids… a lot of people didn’t belong (in our clothes), and they couldn’t belong. Are we exclusive? Absolutely.”

This spirit of exclusivity worked to some extent – ​​Abercrombie & Fitch became an iconic part of the culture, being mentioned in shows like: FriendsBut it got the company into trouble on bigger issues, time and again.

In 2002, the company sold thongs with phrases like “Eye Candy” and “Wink.” Children’s ZoneLater that year, it dropped t-shirt The ad was designed to look like an ad for a Chinese laundromat and featured the racist slogan “Two yellow men can become white”.

There was even a Supreme Court case in which a Muslim woman, Samantha Elauf, accused the company of refusing to hire her because her headscarf did not comply with the company’s “appearance policy” for employees. (“It was really easy,” Justice Antonin Scalia said.) explain He won for Elauf in 2015.)

All this happened in Body Positive MovementUltimately, the dissonance—plus the economic fallout from the Great Recession—proved to be too much. Its stock price fell until 2016, when Abercrombie became the largest retailer in the U.S. Most hated retailerRest in peace.

After the brand’s decline, Abercrombie’s executive team underwent a major transformation. Jeffries roll out New executives took over in the 2010s. Their first task was to undo some of the damage Abercrombie had done to its image in the 2000s.

Old Abercrombie reject Selling clothing larger than a size L or above a women’s size 10. New Abercrombie clothing goes up to size 32. Its ads are now more tasteful, with models more representative of a wider range of potential customers, rather than overly sexy photo shoots.

New Abercrombie also Poor concentration Paying attention to fashion trends and appeasing the high school hierarchy is more about providing a new generation of 20-somethings with basic, quality clothing, fitted jeans and sturdy sportswear for weddings and work.

“They’re using a lot of high-end materials like wool, cotton and cashmere, and they’re also focusing a lot on fit,” said Elizabeth Segran, a senior writer at Fast Company. Tell Explain today“It’s really important because this is all happening in the context of fast fashion, which is known for making clothes as cheaply as possible and so trendy that you wear them a few times and then throw them away. This obviously goes against all of that.”

There’s a reason you didn’t see a big, splashy ad from Abercrombie announcing its return, Seigelan said. Abercrombie executives said they wanted to lead with product rather than a full reintroduction of the brand — which might require acknowledging its shady history.

They want customers to feel like they’ve discovered the new Abercrombie. So they work with content creators on social media, open new (tasteless) stores in strategic locations, and rely on word of mouth to do the rest.

“Our plan is to go from being fashion’s best-kept secret to being their favorite brand,” said Carey Krug, Abercrombie’s marketing chief. Tell Fast Company.

Segerland told Explain today This resurgence isn’t just an Abercrombie story. Traditional retailers like J. Crew and Gap, which have been competing with younger direct-to-consumer brands like Everlane and Reformation, could learn something from Abercrombie’s resurgence.

“The Abercrombie story shows us that if a brand has such a long history and a place in American retail history, it can make a comeback.”

This story originally appeared in Let me explain todayVox’s flagship daily newsletter. Sign up here to get future editions.