THE SHOCKING REVIVAL OF ABERCROMBIE

The company that brought us long sleeve tees with the moose logo and the skinny jeans we all wore in middle school is back. Abercrombie and Fitch has been revived and while the store still smells that exact same, the look is immensely different as Abercrombie is now focusing on a market full of adults. Just four years ago, Abercrombie and Fitch shares were listed at below $10. How did the company avoid its final downfall and entirely rebrand itself?

​

It first started with a new CEO, Fran Horowitz, who allowed for stock to grow over 270% in one year alone. Executives working for the brand knew that they wanted to shift towards pleasing an older demographic, but they knew there was a lot of work to be done in order to do this. By first separating the identities of Abercrombie and Hollister, they were able to focus on building a wardrobe for what many like to call “the off duty professional”. By allowing Hollister to continue to cater to the teenage customer, Abercrombie started to flourish when it came to focusing on adults looking to build up their basics in their wardrobe. In addition to this, Abercrombie has been working towards being more of a sustainable brand that avoids fast fashion. A big part of their rebrand was simply investing in the raw materials that allow their clothes to be a higher quality.

​

Furthermore, Abercrombie has been paying attention to the topics that many millennials and Gen Zs are passionate about and has even chosen to get involved by doing projects such as massive donations for the causes that they get involved in. A major difference between Horowitz and the previous CEO is their ideas about inclusivity. Horowitz stated that “Before it was (about) fitting in. And there is a very, very big difference between belonging and fitting in. We no longer want people to change who they are just to fit in to be part of the brand. We want you to belong to the brand as you are.'' Social media platforms such as TikTok have really allowed Abercrombie to portray their new identity. By showing their clothes on real people instead of models, Abercrombie can portray their inclusivity rapidly. The brand has even received feedback from customers about their own appreciation about how a brand can show it has made mistakes yet still be able to fix them.