Abercrombie & Fitch is one of the leading brands of teenage clothing. Abercrombie & Fitch started off as an outdoor equipment store, but over the years has largely been associated with clothing and teenage clothing in particular.
The history behind Abercrombie & Fitch is quite interesting. Abercrombie Co. was founded by David Abercrombie in 1892. Ezra Fitch, a lawyer and a regular customer of Abercrombie Co., bought a major share in the company and quit his law practice. In 1904, the company was named Abercrombie & Fitch with Ezra Fitch as co-founder.
However, Ezra Fitch and David Abercrombie had different visions. Abercrombie was content to focus on the outdoor equipment sector, but Fitch wanted to look beyond. This difference of opinion eventually resulted in David Abercrombie resigning in 1907. Fitch continued the business, without changing the name, and it soon became one of the most reputed outdoor and sporting equipment stores in the United States. Roald Amundsen’s historic polar trip was equipped by Abercrombie & Fitch, and every president of the United States, from Roosevelt to Ford, was a customer.
The company soon fell into a bad times, but after a number of hiccups, Abercrombie & Fitch came back to establish itself as a major clothing brand in 1980. Since then, it has been marketed as a high-end teen clothing brand. The Abercrombie & Fitch range includes everything from bathing suits to flip-flops. Abercrombie & Fitch has also launched four other clothing brands – Abercrombie, Hollister Company, Ruehl and, most recently, Gilly Hicks.
Abercrombie & Fitch is known for its unique corporate and retail culture. Its culture revolves around the fun and frolics of youth. It has around 800 stores across the US and has created a trend amongst teenagers to have a variety of messages on T-shirts, some of which have led to controversy.
The other brands launched by Abercrombie & Fitch cater to slightly different sectors of the market. Abercrombie is a range of apparel for children, Hollister Company offers teenage apparel with cheeky slogans, Ruehl targets slightly older customers (20–30 year olds) and Gilly Hicks is the first to sell underwear, loungewear and personal care products. Abercrombie & Fitch has also expanded globally, with six stores in Canada and a flagship store in London. It also plans to enter the Asian market by opening a store in Tokyo.
Today, Abercrombie & Fitch is not only known for its shirts, jackets and other clothing but also for its belts, perfumes and gift cards. Cologne “FIERCE” and perfume “8” are considered to be the signature scents of Abercrombie & Fitch. Needless to say, with such a wide range of teenage apparel, Abercrombie & Fitch is a smash hit among teenagers.
