Hey loves, I'm linking up with one of my favorite bloggers (and sorority sister!)--Dea Win of Pretty Girls Rock Dresses! I don't even think simply calling her a blogger is accurate. She is making major moves in so many different arenas, and to know her has been so inspiring. I shared a story with her about the recent Abercrombie & Fitch brouhaha, and I thought I'd post it on Right-Click Save as well. Feel free to voice your opinions in the comment section! And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you'll get the skinny (pun totally intended) in the story below.
Is Abercrombie & Fitch Only for the Attractive & Fit?
Clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch is for beautiful people only… And what makes someone beautiful in the eyes of this retail giant? Well for starters, you’ve gotta be thin. At least that’s what CEO Mike Jefferies shared back in 2006 during an interview with Salon magazine.
The magazine quoted Jefferies as saying, “…we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either.” His words have come back to haunt him after Robin Lewis, author of the book The New Rules of Retail, discussed A&F’s sizing practices with The Business Insider this week.Lewis shared, “He doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people. 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.’” The largest size the brand carries for women is a 10. Jeffries is definitely skating on thin ice…but clearly he prefers thin and doesn’t care that he’s excluding 67% of the purchasing population. The Business Insider reports that percentage of folks purchase plus-sized items. But Jeffries wants to focus on the “cool kids” instead #ohok I say, continue to support brands like H&M and ASOS. They not only have fabulous clothes at amazing prices, but they carry sizes up to a 22 for women. You can find clothes for the office, or a freakum dress for the weekend…wherever your life will take you. Look at the ads for Abercrombie & Fitch—the models are always in the woods or in a cabin. Unless you are a descendant of Paul Bunyan, most peeps would not be spending that much time in the wilderness. And there’s nothing to eat but berries out there, so that explains why the homies are so thin. Ain’t nobody got time fah that! But what do YOU think? Is Abercrombie & Fitch hurting their business with its exclusionary tactics? Read the entire Business Insider article here.