Last May, the CEO of popular clothing brand Abercrombie & Fitch, Michael Jeffries, made controversial statements over who their target market is. The author of the book ‘Rules of Retail’ accused Jeffries of being the ‘mean girl’ for not providing plus sizes for their clothing. In response, Jeffries stated “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.”

Jeffries has received lots of negative press about the statements since. A&F’s competitors have been producing plus sized teenage clothing for several months now in response to rising plus sized market.

Are such practices really unethical, or is this simply a cultural backlash from Americans? It is not uncommon for many brands to specialize their clothing in order to market themselves. In fact, the reverse of Abercrombie and Fitch is present in Big & Tall stores, in which no small sized clothing are to be found. Many other higher end or European brands such at H&M use the same marketing techniques by using thin models or having tighter-fitting cuts.

Jeffries is only guilty of admitting to a practice that has been existing since marketing theory came around: a target market. The backlash occurs when the American culture of the customer always being right feels offended by a retailer saying ‘we don’t want to sell to you’. This kind of behavior has been mocked by many in recent years. In Southpark’s episode ‘Raising the Bar’, the main character Cartman becomes obese enough to require a motorized chair to get around, then leverages his ‘needs’ to force schools and stores to build ramps to let him in. How is forcing a company like A&F to make plus sized clothes any different?