Abercrombie and Fitch, an American retailer that targets the youth market, stirs up contraversy when they refused to offer their clothes larger than women’s size 10 and men’s size 34. In response to this, CEO Mike Jeffries said that
“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.”
They have created a brand image that revolves around aesthetics and encourages sexual attraction. A&F marketing is heavily based on the employees that work in the store. The fact that only skinny, attractive “models” works in their store enforces A&F’s exclusion of large women. .
This is unethical because targeting only people that are currently praised in society furthers mental illnesses, unhealthy lifestyle, and body image issues. Their marketing does not only impact youths as a whole, but also parents may feel less inclined to purchase from A&F. A&F should be ashamed as they cultivate a culture that does not promote equality.
Sources:
http://www.businessinsider.com/abercrombie-and-fitch-worst-controversies-2013-8?op=1
http://www.cnn.com/2013/05/23/living/abercrombie-attractive-and-fat/index.html
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2013/05/16/abercrombie-ceo/
I agree with Joey- marketing exclusively to “attractive” people can only encourage self esteem/self worth issues that are already too prominent in today’s society.
I agree that A&F should feel ashamed for not promoting equality. However, the irony of all the negative backlash in the media is that it portrays A&F as an exclusive, fashionable store that people want so much to be a part of. Even though it’s a discriminatory company, many people will only see the exclusiveness – and let’s face it: people always want what they cannot have.