Abercrombie & Fitch: My Take
Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries recently made comments concerning the clothes retailer’s business strategy. Here’s the Business Insider report, but in short, A&F will not sell women’s sizes greater than a 10. The ideal A&F customer is the “cool kid”–the guys with washboard abs, and the girls who look good in a bikini. In short, “the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends.” That’s what Jeffries told Salon in a 2006 interview. He went on to say, “A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”
No surprise–I find these remarks reprehensible. Young people have enough complexes and crises about image; they can do without the A&F CEO telling them, “sorry, you’re too fat/ugly/unpopular to wear A&F clothes, or even enter an A&F store.” Let’s face it, how many high school and college-aged kids are so confident about their self-image they would say, “oh, I’m definitely the A&F type”? Very few. Even some of the nicest people I knew at school (both in terms of looks and personality) would have shied away from Jeffries’ description.
But I want to home in on Jeffries’ idea of the A&F customer, particularly his depiction of him/her as having “a great attitude and lots of friends.” What constitutes a great attitude, Mr. Jeffries? Is it being narcissistic and sex-obsessed? Is the “attractive kid” one who shuns those that don’t meet your standards of beauty, who hangs out with like-minded “beautiful” people, and is the object of envy and admiration from many lesser mortals (in other words, has “lots of friends”)?
In my experience, the “attractive” kid with a “great attitude and lots of friends” comes in many shapes and sizes. Attitude is about who you are, not what you look like. And I’ve known some very pretty girls–ones Mike Jeffries would have welcomed–with downright ugly attitudes that made them extremely unattractive, despite their physical appearance. Conversely, I’ve known some “plain” girls with warm and adorable attitudes that made them very attractive.
I would go as far as to say that those who don’t fit the A&F customer type are by far the majority. And many of them have lots of friends, are considered cool by their peers, and even have romantic relationships. I’m sure many of them don’t care about looking sexy, and wouldn’t wear A&F clothes if you paid them. And some of these people are the most attractive people you’ll ever meet. Your loss, Mr. Jeffries.
In a free market, companies like A&F have a right to exist, and in a free country, people like Mr. Jeffries have a right to run their businesses with whatever business model they choose. However, it would give me a glimmer of hope for our society if people spoke with their wallets and put A&F out of business. Just sayin’.
Uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuugh is about the only response I can come up with to this bloke’s attitude. Disgusting way to treat your fellow humans.
I couldn’t believe he would be so brazen about it–especially as a CEO. I suppose in a way it’s refreshing that he’s upfront and honest about his intentions. Still, I agree. Uuuuuuuuuuugh!
My reaction to Mike Jeffries’ comments were pretty much the same as yours. It’s ridiculous that he thinks they’re targeting kids with “great attitudes”. In my experience kids who insist on only wearing name brand clothing generally don’t have great attitudes. In fact, their priorities are usually completely out of whack–no thanks to parents who allow companies like A & F to mold their kids. I’m not saying it’s wrong to wear name brand clothing, but when looking like an Abercrombie ad becomes the standard our kids need to meet in order to feel good about themselves, that’s a huge problem. I also find their sizing philosophy ridiculously chauvinistic. Sure they’ll sell large men’s sizes to accommodate guys with broader, athletic builds, but they perpetuate the idea that women must be skinny to be attractive by only selling smaller ladies’ sizes. First of all,there’s no way all the guys purchasing larger clothing at A & F are athletic. Second of all, what kind of a message does this send to girls? Ugh. Companies like this disgust me. Thanks for voicing your opinions on this issue, Colin.
You’re welcome, Erin–and thanks for your contribution! With all the uproar in recent years about 0-size models, and the image-obsession in Hollywood, you’d think attitudes like this would be a thing of the past. Sadly not. I really hope the wide press Jeffries’ comments is getting makes society stop and take stock. And we, as writers, should be just as critical of ourselves. How often do we fall into the same stereotypes with our MCs? How many times do hunky guys with six-packs abs adorn the covers of YA Romance (and other genre) novels? As much as we object to Jeffries’ scummy views, we need to be sure we aren’t contributing to society’s unwitting acceptance of his worldview.
Honestly, I’d rather go to Primark and get the same style tops for a few quid and in more average sizes rather than paying out that ridiculous amount of money. What a rip off!
Image and appearance will always haunt society. Like you said in your above comment, Colin, how many books are filled with the flawless in appearance guys and the stunning, attractive female character (always a secondary one with a bad attitude to the Plain Jane)? It’s hard to teach your children that appearance shouldn’t be an issue when you have authors and people like Michael Jeffries trying to create nothing but “attractive” people/characters. This is why I usually keep character description to a minimum. I might give you hair and eye colour but I’m certainly not describing how attractive they might look. Besides my idea of attractive guys (David Tennant and Matt Smith) would be totally different to another person’s idea of an attractive guy.
I don’t think anyone can deny that there are people in this world who are good looking, and easy on the eyes. But there’s a difference between having a pretty face and being attractive. And some of the most unattractive “pretty” people I’ve known are those that know how pretty they are, and use it to either take advantage of others or put others down–the kind of attitude A&F seems to promote.
I wouldn’t say writers should avoid hunky guys/gorgeous girls in their work. Indeed, if the story demands such characters, then go for it. But I would encourage writers not to include them simply because they sell books, or people like them. Only include them if the story demands. With first person narratives, it’s harder to avoid descriptions, especially if the narrator finds someone appealing. But that person could be the quirky geek, not the square-jawed action hero.
Thanks for your thoughts, Robin! 🙂
I have to say, I don’t notice the teenagers I work with wearing much A&F, and actually the one by me went out of business sometime last year. Hopefully young consumers are totally turned off by this kind of messaging.
I hope so too, Kelly. As I said, I wouldn’t deny businesses like this a right to exist, but I hope people know better than to support such skanky attitudes.
I really hope that most teenagers will stay away from this place, not because they don’t feel that they fit in with the A&F ideal but in protest as such a ridiculous statement. This did annoy me but I suppose lits of companies aspire to this, they’re just not so blatant about it. What you said, Colin, about personality etc was spot on. Being in the ‘right’ clothes with the perfect face does not make you a beautiful person.
I hope people who do wear A&F clothes–or recognize themselves in Jeffries’ description of their ideal customer–are embarrassed by this. And I think you’re right, Tracy. This attitude is probably a lot more prevalent in marketing and business–just not many are willing to be so brazen about it.
Thanks for saying something about this, Colin. I wonder what we would hear if we asked other similar companies to be as open about their target consumer, though. Mike Jeffries is offensive in speaking so bluntly about A&F’s analysis of teen culture, but I think his sentiments are carried by a lot of people and/or companies who are simply unwilling to admit it.
One part of this that stuns me: Mike Jeffries’ original interview was in 2006, but A&F is still going strong. It’s great that this is getting a second go around, but it’s sad that it has taken so long.
You’re right, Rae. The fact that seven years later, A&F are still in business with Jeffries’ comments in the public record doesn’t give me a lot of hope that enough people care. It’s natural for us to be drawn to anything of physical beauty, whether it’s a plant, a building, or a person. And having people model clothes whose appearance enhance the garment is certainly a good marketing technique. But when you go beyond saying, “These models are merely pretty mannequins to showcase our clothes,” to saying, “These models are the only kind of people we want wearing our clothes,” I think you’ve crossed a line. But, as you say, how many clothing/cosmetic companies out there say the former, but really mean the latter? Probably more than we’d like to think.
Honestly, I’m just amazed that the CEO came out and said it, this bluntly, rather than putting a nice, accepting face on things. :/ Doesn’t seem like a great business strategy, but I suppose it works for them.
Really, though, the way he phrases it is so negative… I think if you plastered those statements, word for word, on the outside of every A&F store, business actually would go down. (Perhaps that’s optimistic of me, but I really do think if it was made explicit, “exclusionary” practices or a sign that said “nothing over a size 10 may enter” would become unpopular, if only because people are programmed to be accepting in explicit ways even if they are still judgmental and exclusive at heart.)
Amazingly they’re still in business. But, as you say, I’m sure there are many people who outwardly flinch at his comments, but inwardly agree. Sadly.
It would be interesting to get groups of non-A&F type people (myself included) and “invade” A&F stores, acting like customers who might actually buy the clothes. Alternatively, make a line of t-shirts that have one of Jeffries’ quotes on the back, and on the front it says “A&F Reject.” Either would, I think, make the point. 🙂
I, too, hope people will at least err on the side of decency and avoid A&F stores.
Have you seen this?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/05/14/abercrombie-and-fitch-homeless-brand-readjustment_n_3272498.html
I did see this–just last night, actually. Excellent!! 😀
His attitude will be reflected in the lack of customers, the majority being the ‘wrong’ shape or who are just too plain good to be ‘A&F kids’. I wonder how his shareholders will feel about his attitude? It’s sounding a little Third Reich-ey to me.
His views have been public record since 2006, so sadly it seems sufficient people don’t care enough. That might change, though, with this recent wave of publicity. One can only hope… 🙂