Abercrombie & Fitch

Nikki Fink
MAT 114 Section 001
September 19, 2006

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Abercrombie and Fitch
Abercrombie and Fitch is a well known apparel retailing company. They
specialize in upscale mens, womens, and kids casual wear (Company Profile).
Although their retailing mission statement could not be found, they do make it know that
they welcome diversity. Their Diversity Mission Statement can be found on their annual
report: At Abercrombie and Fitch we are committed to increasing and leveraging the
diversity of our associates and management across the organization. We support those
differences through a culture of inclusion, so that we understand our customers, enhance
organizational effectiveness, capitalize on the talents of our workforce and represent the
communities in which we do business. Males and females between the ages of 18 and
22 are Abercrombies target market. The products they offer include items in the
apparel, personal care, and accessories categories. The main strategy Abercrombie uses
to sell its products is through maintaining a young, hip image, often achieved through hot
photographs in advertisements and around their stores. Also, Abercrombie and Fitch
aims to maintain a uniform appearance through out all of its stores.
Although Abercrombie and Fitch is a popular, successful company, they still must
make sure they are keeping up with the game in the retail world. It is important for all
companies to analyze the way they are doing business and compare it with their
competitors. Listing a companys strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats will
help them make smart business decisions in the future.
Because Abercrombie is already a well established company they have many
strengths. One strength is revenue growth of 2.5% in 2004. Another strength
Abercrombie and Fitch has is its brand definition. Because of their high prices,

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Abercrombie is able to put fine details into their clothes that their competitors can not.
Also, they can charge higher prices because they are so well known, which is also a
strength of the company. Another unique characteristic about the company is the in-store
experience. Hip music and well dressed employees can attract more customers simply
because shopping is more enjoyable. The infamous pictures that Abercrombie uses in its
advertisements and in-store displays can also be counted as a strength. It uses modern
culture as a way to attracted more customers.
Although it can bee seen as a strength, the half dressed models in Abercrombies
ads can also be seen as a weakness. Customers may either be offended or left with low
self esteem by the pictures, causing them not to shop in their stores. Their high prices
can be seen as a major weakness. Many people are willing to forgo detail Abercrombie
provides in their products for cheaper, similar items from competitors. According to their
company profile, having a single distribution center is also a weakness for Abercrombie.
If something were to happen to this location, shipping inventory would become slow and
inefficient.
Because of Abercrombies high profile they have many opportunities. One major
opportunity is to go global. Right now Abercrombie only has store locations in the U.S.,
therefore there are many other countries they could establish a presence in. Abercrombie
has also already taken advantage of some opportunities to open to a broader range of
customers. They now have a company for kids and also one for younger high school
students. They also have the opportunity to increase their denim collection due to the
rising demand for denim.

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There are a couple main threats that Abercrombie and Fitch need to look out for.
The major threat to the company is a shift in consumer demands. It is very possible that
people will no longer be willing to pay the prices of Abercrombie and chose to take their
businesses elsewhere. They also need to look out for competitors such as American
Eagle who are leaning towards the wear-now selections of clothing. Also Abercrombie
has had a past of sales increasing mainly during the Christmas holiday. Thats one area
they need to watch out for.
Overall, I believe Abercrombie has a good business strategy. They have set
themselves apart from many of their competitors and are focused on delivering products
true to their brand. The main aspect I think Abercrombie has gotten right is their
marketing strategy. Although I do not necessarily agree with the photos of half naked
models hanging in their windows, I believe it has been a successful way of getting
customers in the door. If nothing else it creates a sense of curiosity.
All businesses leave room for improvement. There are a couple aspects I believe
Abercrombie could work on. First of all I think more people would shop at Abercrombie
if they could find a way to lower their prices. This may lower their marginal revenue but
it would also increase their volume of customers. Another suggestion I would have for
Abercrombie and Fitch is to open another distribution center. This will help speed up
inventory shipment and perhaps make the process more efficient. One way Abercrombie
could stay on top of their competition is to follow in American Eagles steps of a more
wear-now line of clothing. One last suggestion for Abercrombie and Fitch for ways to
improve their performance is to work towards going global. After opening up more
distribution centers in the U.S., work on establishing a presence in other countries.

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References
Abercrombie & Fitch (n.d.). Abercrombie & Fitch. Retrieved
September 18, 2006 from , Web site:
http://www.abercrombie.com/anf/lifestyles/html/homepage.html
Dunne, P.M., & Lusch R. (2005). Retailing (5th ed.). United
States: Thomson.
Riper, T.V. (2006, August 31). The eagle has landed. Retrieved
September 18, 2006 from , Forbes Web site:
https://elearning.uky.edu/webaaps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab=courses&url=/bin/
common/course.pl?course_id=_2848_1
University of Kentucky (2005, June). Abercrombie & Fitch Company
Profile. Retrieved September 18, 2006 from Datamonitor Company
Profiles Authority Web site:
http://web.ebscohost.com.ezproxy.uky.edu/ehost/detial?vid=23&hid=106&sid=7c
1d96a3-14be-421b-9b5b-37b19f071235%40sessionmgr103
Vault (n.d.). Abercrombie & Fitch . Retrieved September 18, 2006
from , Web site:
http://www.vault.com/companies/company_main.jsp?co_page=12&product_id=2
2890&ch_id=318