Earlier this year, there was a major controversy surrounding the Abercrombie & Fitch CEO, Mike Jeffries. There was a major outcry from the public after his statement in an ill-advised interview from 2006 given to Salon Magazine:

“In every school there are cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids. Candidly 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.” (Global News, 2013)

Ever since this interview has emerged, there have been many campaigns against Abercrombie & Fitch. Some of them include: A man giving Abercrombie clothes to homeless people, anti-bullying campaigns, a petition for plus sizes and many such humanitarian campaigns. This has majorly wrecked the brand since statistics show that by the end of May, the Abercrombie & Fitch U.S sales have dropped by 17% (ibit). Furthermore, there has been a 33% drop in the second-quarter profit as well as a stock tumble of 18%. (Huffington Post, 2013).

What measures is the company taking towards this issue? Why aren’t there any efforts made to add plus sized clothing to the store? how are they coping with the major discrimination case being filed against them recently against their “good-looking employees ONLY” policy? Competitors such as H&M and AE have now started offering plus sizes. Can A&F survive this situation which majorly threatens their brand?

Even though what A&F did was ethically and morally wrong they have now initiated a rather weak, Anti-bullying campaign. There has not been any effort made to add plus sizes in the store, though the company seems to be more engaged in its “external market pressures” rather than their social responsibility in the society.

Sources used:

1.) http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviatemin/2013/05/13/abercrombie-and-fitch-v-dove-or-how-a-ceo-can-wreck-a-brand-in-1-interview-7-years-ago/

2.) http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/06/11/abercrombie-anti-bullying-campaign_n_3423081.html

3.) http://globalnews.ca/news/592736/elite-to-elitist-how-the-abercrombie-and-fitch-ceo-may-have-crossed-the-line/