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Abercrombie & Fitch is a clothing company which operates an extensive chain of retail outlets, marketing casual clothing to young adults.
It was founded in 1892 in New York by David Abercrombie. Originally the business sold hunting, camping, and fishing gear. In 1900, Ezra Fitch, a loyal customer convinced Abercrombie to be his business partner. The two men's goals for the company conflicted, with Abercrombie wishing to retain its original focus, and with Fitch pushing to expand it to attract a broader market for their goods and the outdoor activities they facilitated.
In 1907 Abercrombie sold his share to Fitch. The business did well, selling the hat then-US president Theodore Roosevelt wore on his famous African safaris. Other famous people to pass through Abercrombie & Fitch's doors at one point include pilot Amelia Earhart and presidents Taft, Harding, and Kennedy. As time went by the company evolved more into a casual and sporty clothing outlet.
The company fell on hard times in the 1960s and went bankrupt in 1977. Oshman's, a sporting goods company, soon acquired Abercrombie, which still struggled. In 1988 the Limited bought Abercrombie. Over the next decade Abercrombie focused on sports and casual wear for youth.[1] (http://www.fool.com/news/commentary/2004/commentary040129tg.htm)
In the 1990s the company's quarterly catalog began including more photographs with a fine art style, including more erotically suggestive, and partially nude content. Photographer Bruce Weber, well-known for his erotic male photography, was brought on as the principal shooter. The attention on attractive young men appealed to the trend-setting straight female and gay male market, and the Abercrombie and Fitch brand became very popular. More photos focusing on attractive young women helped make the catalogs — and the clothing — popular with the straight male market as well.
The catalog, despite being labeled that it was for adults only, and sold only to people who produced a valid ID, attracted controversy over the graphic content, including false allegations that it contained full-frontal nudity, and complaints about feature articles about alcohol. Critics charged that this was inappropriate for a clothing store that appealed to a market including minors. In 2003, the company began experimenting with other formats for their quarterly, including the use of less provocative photos, a magazine-style package, layouts which focus almost exclusively on the photographs (rather than ad copy for the clothing), and a "Spring Break 2004" issue sent only to select customers via mailing list.
Another controversy involving the company focused on a line of shirts it produced, which featured old racist caricatures of Asians and other ethnic groups. The company discontinued the designs and apologized.
Another lawsuit — Gonzales v. Abercrombie & Fitch — alleged the hiring of primarily white people in the company's retail stores, of mistreating minority employees, and with not reflecting the diversity of America in their advertisments. On November 16, 2004, the company has responded by hiring more people of color, featuring more such models in their catalog, and, settled this class action suit, agreeing to pay 40 million dollars to rejected job applicants and employees who were victimized by the company's discriminatory practices. The settlement also calls for the company to institute policies and programs that promote diversity in their werkforce and their advertising campaigns. The company further agreed to hire a Vice President of Diversity and 25 recruiters to seek out minority employees, to increase diversity training, and to cease their practice of recruiting from primarily white fraternities and sororities.
Abercrombie & Fitch also operates the stores Abercrombie Kids and Hollister Co.. While Abercrombie & Fitch targets ages 18 through mid-20s, Abercrombie Kids aims to attract ages 7–14, and Hollister Co. is geared toward ages 14–25.
References
- —, "National Clothing Retailer Must Pay For Discrimination, The Defender, Winter 2005, 1. A publication of the NAACP LDF. Description of the settlement of Gonzales.
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