Abercrombie & Fitch is the newest victim of online shopping.
Malls in America are on the decline, as Macy’s, Gap and J.C. Penney have all cut down the number of their stores in recent months. Abercrombie & Fitch is following suit, closing another 60 stores this year after it already cut 54 last year. A nine percent drop in sales in 2016 caused the pre-teen favorite to cut back.
The brand has been facing backlash from the public for as long as I can remember, whether over its big logos or trademark sexy advertisements. And remember when they refused to hire a Muslim woman? Yeah, that went all the way to the Supreme Court—not a good look. Recently the company has been taking some major steps to avoid dying althogether, including rebranding, as shown above with the “then and now” photo of a modeling couple. Right now, it’s mainly Hollister keeping the brand afloat, competing with shops like Zara and H&M.
Though it’s sad that malls might soon be devoid of all the retailers that made our pre-teen years, something has to be said for Abercrombie’s controversies over the years–including the fact that they only want thin customers and don’t stock XL or XXL clothing. Times are a’ changin.
The good news for A&F fans is that there are still 647 Abercrombie & Fitch stores for you to shop at (and smell as you walk by—what is that, sandalwood?).