Shirtless no more: Can Abercrombie & Fitch widen its appeal?
Abercrombie models will now wear shirts. And they won鈥檛 be called models anymore.
In a statement released Friday, teen apparel store Abercrombie & Fitch said the chain will revamp its policies and no longer use employees鈥� physical appearance as a selling point. The changes come in an effort to boost sales, which dropped 10 percent last year.
Will toning down the store鈥檚 infamous hyper-sexualization help the brand鈥檚 image, or is it already too late?
Abercrombie said that with the policy changes comes a desire to move forward. The brand went through a rough phase in the media 鈥� long-time CEO Michael Jeffries stated in 2013 that the brand was only for 鈥渃ool kids.鈥� In the last few years, the company has聽also faced multiple lawsuits alleging discrimination in hiring practices. Mr. Jeffries retired in December, giving the brand the space it needs to reinvent itself.
鈥淲e are focused on the future, not the past, and there is complete alignment that these are the right changes,鈥� said Abercrombie brand president Christos Angelides, .
One of the most obvious changes: Abercrombie will discontinue use of shirtless male models in stores and advertising.聽Store clerks, formerly referred to as models, will be called brand representatives. Abercrombie also committed to making its employee demographic more diverse and inclusive of physical appearances, body types, and ethnicities.
But employees are not the only ones facing changes. Stores will also receive makeovers, as scent, lighting, and decor are updated, to give shoppers a 鈥渕ore pleasurable shopping experience,鈥� The company's once-ubiquitous聽鈥渟exualized marketing,鈥� will also come to an end. Racy images will be removed from photos, shopping bags, and gift cards.
These rebranding efforts come amid other changes meant to revive sales. Last summer the company removed its once-prized logo in response to decreasing brand allegiances and a desire for more individual style among teens. The store is also admitted to last summer to聽gauge聽demand, a significant financial investment that may or may not pay off.
says that perhaps the company is doing too much too fast to create positive change for the brand.聽
鈥淥ften when a business has many ideas it lacks focus on any one idea. This might be the case for Abercrombie & Fitch right now. With the company making so many changes at the same time, it might have a hard time pinpointing what works and what doesn't,鈥�
Younger consumers are looking for more than just branding; more than ever, customers purchase products based on corporate philosophies and brands they believe better society.
鈥淔or the first time, 鈥榮ocial consumers鈥� are willing to put their money where their ideals are,鈥�聽said David Giannetto, a business consultant and author of 鈥淏ig Social Mobile,鈥� in a previous Monitor story. 鈥淭his is different behavior than previous generations, where their ideals did not influence their actual propensity to buy, their loyalty, or price sensitivity.鈥�
With Abercrombie moving away from its 鈥渆xclusive鈥� approach to gaining customers and committing to diversity and acceptance, they could see improvement. But only time will tell.
