Aging of Abercrombie & Fitch

[+ newguy]

If you particularly dread getting older, don't

read the post below...

 

NG

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2015-01-22/the-aging-of-abercrombie-fitch-i58ltcqx

[+ azdr0710]

interesting article.....such a fickle business.....glad I'm not in it.....

 

a couple or three escorts I've met talked about wild times being hired by Jeffries and Smith.....

 

thanks for posting, NG

[+ Truereview]

A&F has now been looking for a CEO over 2 years. My guess is that A&F has about 18 months before it is acquired by a retailer that is more in tune with changing global and, specifically, US trends and demographics. They need a transformational leader. Hard to find these days.

 

Mike Jeffries is not missed...

http://balaboostas.com/balablog/wp-content/uploads/AbercrombieandcoolPeople.jpg

[+ purplekow]

Seems odd that he would not want himself as a customer.

[jimboivyo]

he got exactly what was coming to him

[caliguy]

he got exactly what was coming to him

He was very successful for 22 years though. Like it or not Abercrombe was considered for the cool people and it worked. It was just changing of the times that caught up to him.

[jimboivyo]

He was very successful for 22 years though. Like it or not Abercrombe was considered for the cool people and it worked. It was just changing of the times that caught up to him.

 

he had success and then failure because he forgot to progress. It was his own fault. his own insane fault

 

i remember buying from A&F when they could outfit for safari

[+ ArVaGuy]

Like a lot of CEOs, Jeffries overstayed his welcome at A&F. He should have left at least a decade earlier.

[rvwnsd]

He was very successful for 22 years though. Like it or not Abercrombe was considered for the cool people and it worked. It was just changing of the times that caught up to him.

His personal finances were certainly enriched, thanks to an ineffective and weak board. The company was another story. Its earnings per share were pretty much flat.

[+ sam.fitzpatrick]

There are tales around Columbus of executives arriving on the A&F campus for interviews and being turned away if they were wearing a necktie. He missed several opportunities for good talent.

[+ ArVaGuy]

There are tales around Columbus of executives arriving on the A&F campus for interviews and being turned away if they were wearing a necktie. He missed several opportunities for good talent.

 

Considering his ego, he very likely didn't want good talent around to challenge him. He knew what was best and kept any potential rivals from getting a foothold in the company.

[gallahadesquire]

Never give up, never forget. Or something like that.

 

VL&A is what my mother referred to when A&F was mentioned. At that point, they were both outfitters to the poachers of the Upper Class.

 

I just get a kick of thiniking of VL&A and realizing, in my mind's eye, A&F.

[LADoug1]

I always disliked seeing or visiting A&F. Now I know why.

[+ quoththeraven]

I gotta go with Jimbo on this one. Besides the insanity of discriminating against non-white employees and limiting his customers by refusing to sell larger sizes, he paid too much attention to merchandising issues that didn't matter that much in the long run and less to overall trend and financial issues.

 

Also, the insistence that visible store employees be ornamental rather than competent (not that they're necessarily incompatible) is a little creepy and reminds me of stories about Trump and his California golf course (hiding or firing overweight, older and less pretty employees to assuage Mr. Trump).

[AdamSmith]

Considering his ego, he very likely didn't want good talent around to challenge him. He knew what was best and kept any potential rivals from getting a foothold in the company.

Contrast with operations that succeed wildly. When Oppenheimer was starting Los Alamos he wrote to a colleague: "We must begin a program of absolutely unscrupulous recruitment of every able individual we can lay hands on."

[liubit]

I always disliked seeing or visiting A&F. Now I know why.

Well, there was serious eye candy in the Manhattan Fifth Avenue store, serious eye candy worth the visit

[+ ArVaGuy]

Here's the full collection of MadTV Abercrombie sketches for your viewing pleasure. Enjoy!