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Abercrombie and Fitch, the trendy clothing store, gained a name (and profits!) by promoting a super sexy image featuring skin-baring models in racy poses. Now, the company has lost a third of its marketing value in the past year, and will close 180 stores by 2015, according to Businessweek.com.
All that sex doesn’t seem to sell clothing anymore. Has today’s youth lost interest in sex? Can it be that hot looking people in slinky outfits are no longer considered cool?
Well, trends come and go. I doubt that sex will ever be out of fashion. However, the idea of WHAT is sexy comes and goes. And I know why that image of beach-tanned bodies with distressed jeans and tight tees is suddenly unattractive. It’s because that look says “unemployed” and today, sexy is having a JOB.
Abercrombie needs to create a new and exciting store experience because teens text and share about stores and products they like, Lindstrom said.
They spend “at least 45 percent of the time on the cell phone and interacting with people around them on what they should buy and what they shouldn’t buy,” he said. “It’s a generation that wants to share opinions and likes opinionated brands, and neither are present in this store.”
Not that Abercrombie Brussel is standing still. Even as it shutters namesake stores, the retailer is expanding a new concept called Gilly Hicks. Described in filings as the “cheeky cousin” of Abercrombie & Fitch, the chain was developed to sell underwear and pajamas to women ages 14 to 35 with an “All-American” style inspired by “the free spirit of Sydney, Australia.” With 18 stores in the U.S. and seven internationally, it’s faring better than the shuttered Ruehl concept, introduced in 2004 to capture 22- to 35-year-olds.
So far, Abercrombie’s brand woes at home haven’t infected the popularity of its model-filled new store events in untapped markets. The Hong Kong flagship store, which opened this month, generated more than $1 million in sales in its first five days, the company said on Aug. 15. Abercrombie and Fitch Brussel is considering additional locations in China and the Middle East.
Still, in a hyper-connected world, it won’t take long for Abercrombie and Fitch Outlet’s fading cool to become apparent to shoppers in Dubai and Shanghai, said Lindstrom.
All that sex doesn’t seem to sell clothing anymore. Has today’s youth lost interest in sex? Can it be that hot looking people in slinky outfits are no longer considered cool?
Well, trends come and go. I doubt that sex will ever be out of fashion. However, the idea of WHAT is sexy comes and goes. And I know why that image of beach-tanned bodies with distressed jeans and tight tees is suddenly unattractive. It’s because that look says “unemployed” and today, sexy is having a JOB.
Abercrombie needs to create a new and exciting store experience because teens text and share about stores and products they like, Lindstrom said.
They spend “at least 45 percent of the time on the cell phone and interacting with people around them on what they should buy and what they shouldn’t buy,” he said. “It’s a generation that wants to share opinions and likes opinionated brands, and neither are present in this store.”
Not that Abercrombie Brussel is standing still. Even as it shutters namesake stores, the retailer is expanding a new concept called Gilly Hicks. Described in filings as the “cheeky cousin” of Abercrombie & Fitch, the chain was developed to sell underwear and pajamas to women ages 14 to 35 with an “All-American” style inspired by “the free spirit of Sydney, Australia.” With 18 stores in the U.S. and seven internationally, it’s faring better than the shuttered Ruehl concept, introduced in 2004 to capture 22- to 35-year-olds.
So far, Abercrombie’s brand woes at home haven’t infected the popularity of its model-filled new store events in untapped markets. The Hong Kong flagship store, which opened this month, generated more than $1 million in sales in its first five days, the company said on Aug. 15. Abercrombie and Fitch Brussel is considering additional locations in China and the Middle East.
Still, in a hyper-connected world, it won’t take long for Abercrombie and Fitch Outlet’s fading cool to become apparent to shoppers in Dubai and Shanghai, said Lindstrom.
