Abercrombie & Fitch's New Ideal Customers: Grad Students
Photos: Illustration by Stephanie Jones;
By Leah Melby
Abercrombie & Fitch has been on a rollercoaster of late, working to find its footing in a retail landscape that’s rapidly shifting and with a teen audience that’s getting much more fickle (they care a lot more about keeping up with the latest tech trends than splurging on clothes). The brand has done the design switches, like allowing black on its shelves for the first time, and the corporate shakeup, removing Mike Jeffries from the CEO role. The latest round of strategic moves? Rethinking who they’re trying to reach.
“The Abercrombie brand can travel a bit up the age scale. [It’s] less able to be a true teen brand,” Arthur C. Martinez, chairman of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., told WWD, explaining that the ideal customers are college and graduate students, though “not to the mid-30s necessarily.”
Related: 50 Swimsuits That’ll Make You Look 10 Pounds Thinner
“We are creating a new positioning and new imagery to target the customer,” he said, noting changes would be fully apparent in the fall. A tour through the offerings on its website already show clothing noticeably different than what you might remember from high school. The jeans and cutoffs are widely the same, but shirts feel as if they’re paying closer attention to trends that came down the runway (Martinez reported that bottoms have consistently performed well, while “fashion tops” is the sector that struggles).
This halter crop top (above), paired with high-waisted trousers, is the sort of chic outfit you’d spot on a street style star roaming fashion week—in other words, the furthest thing from a hugely logo'ed baby tee.
Oh, and regarding those logos: they’re coming back. Kind of.
“The logo will be subtle and less visible. It won’t be splashed across the chest,” Martinez said, telling WWD that the company “overreacted” with its earlier decisions to move away from the look. “Logo product has an important place across the company.”
More from Glamour:
What Men Really Think About Your Underwear
10 Things He’s Thinking When You’re Naked
30 Hair Color Ideas to Try Now
6 Things Men Never Notice During Sex
10 Makeup Tips Every Woman Should Know
