Many facets of life are exclusionary. Lamborghini’s are made for the rich, Honda’s for the average North American family. Abercrombie & Fitch, a once popular clothing company known for its racy marketing photography, is infamous for its exclusionary products and its corporate image. The company faces many complaints aimed against their campaigns as sexually explicit and demeaning.
Public relations has felt the wrath of consumers and their angst against CEO’s Mike Jeffries comment in a recent interview, explicitly stating “[A&F] goes after the cool kids”, only further stating that was the reason they had a no plus-size policy, a low tolerance for the “not cool” and “fat” kids.
With this comment came the demise of the company. Stock prices have dropped nearly 10% to $34.35. Protests, including the viral #FitchtheHomeless campaign on Twitter, have affected the company so much that they are now introducing sizes greater than large to regain consumers trust and loyalty in the brand.
However the people are asking for more than just a reconsideration of plus sizes – they want Jeffries fired. In my opinion, repairing the damage Jeffries has made will take an enormous amount of time; all employees of a company, whether they be a sales associate or the CEO, must be held accountable for their actions. It is without a doubt possible for consumers to be “exclusive” to the A&F brand without being discriminatory, prejudice or malignant.
Racy marketing techniques from Abercrombie and Fitch
Sources:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/rogerdooley/2013/05/24/abercrombie-fitch-different/