Abercrombie & Fitch discovers that U.S. teens no longer like wearing its ads around
Upscale teen-targeted clothier Abercrombie & Fitch isn't selling as many shirts and hoodies and dresses as a few years ago, the company said on an earnings call Thursday, and analysts have a fine explanation: Teenagers want to spend their money on Starbucks and iPhone apps, not $35 T-shirts. But Abercrombie's plan for turning its slumping sales around points to another reason: American teens are no longer that excited to be walking advertisements for the Abercrombie brand.
"In the spring season, we are looking to take the North American logo business to practically nothing," CEO Mike Jeffries told investors. In the U.S. and Canada, "we'd want to be out of the logo business essentially by next spring." A&F is famous for putting its logo, loud and proud, on practically every clothing item it sold. Its new U.S. line will be mostly logo-free, mopier — it added black to its palate earlier this year — and more comfortable, with larger sizes and roomier fits.
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