A&F Research Plansbook by Elena Chow

Table of Contents Executive Summary Project 1 Industry Analysis Company Analysis Product/Brand Analysis Competitive Analysis Consumer Analysis Macro-Environmental Analysis SWOT Opportunity Recommendation for Research Research Problem Statement Proposed Questions for Qualitative Research Project 2 Introduction Problem Statement Research Objectives Research Method Justification for Qualitative Research Justification for Focus Group Procedure Instruments Participants Research Findings Future (Quantitative Research) Project 3 Introduction Problem Statement Research Objectives Concepts of Interest Research Method Justification for Quantitative Research Justification for Online Survey Procedure Instruments Participants Findings Research Conclusions Bibliography Appendices

3 6 8 10 11 13 14 17 18 19 20 23 24 24 25 25 26 27 29 30 43 45 46 46 47 48 49 49 50 51 53 62 65 67

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Executive Summary The problem examined during all stages of our research was that Abercrombie and Fitch is experiencing decreasing sales among their target market. The objective of the research as a whole was to figure out why the target market has strayed from the brand and to figure out ways to bring the target market back. In our secondary research, we discovered the trend of millennials believing in inclusion and diversity, which was opposite from Abercrombie and Fitch’s historically exclusive mantra of representing the “cool kid”. We then moved into the qualitative stage of the research where we held two focus groups in order to understand the underlying thoughts and feelings of shoppers and non-shoppers of Abercrombie and Fitch in terms of the company as well as our other three concepts of interest: the branded clothing market, the shopping experience, and the target market’s self perceptions. The focus groups enlightened us on strengths and weaknesses of the company that supported our secondary research. For example, both focus groups agreed that branded clothes were typical, but perceived large logos (a trademark and past selling feature of Abercrombie and Fitch) as obnoxious and vocalized that Abercrombie and Fitch had died out in the eyes of millennials due to factors such as poor media attention, discrimination, and lack of sizes. In the final stage of our research process, the quantitative survey, we used Qualtrics to administer an online survey that was distributed through social media and friends. Through this survey, we gathered generalizable data and made statistical

analyses on our informational needs/concepts of interests. Our survey was 32 questions long, included a pre-screener to maintain a perfect sample frame, and was answered by 134 college students between the ages of 18-24. Backing up our qualitative research, we found that the target market identified their own values as accepting, diversity, and inclusive while matching up the values of popularity, exclusiveness, and uniformity to the Abercrombie and Fitch brand. An overwhelming percentage of both shoppers and non-shoppers responded that they used social media to get information of current fashion trends, so we recommend aligning Abercrombie and Fitch’s values with consumer’s values through a social media campaign. For example, by using hashtags such as #afdiversifies to bring awareness to the diversification of staff, products, and desired customers, Abercrombie and Fitch can reposition itself as an accepting brand that millennials would be excited and proud to shop at.

Project 1: Secondary Research

Situation Analysis Industry Analysis Overview of the industry The clothing retail industry includes women’s clothing, which brings in half of the total industry revenue and men’s clothing, which accounts for 20 percent of the industry revenue (Hoovers, 2015). While most stores in the clothing retail industry are open year-round, the main selling seasons are spring and fall. In the United States, the 50 largest companies account for 65 percent of industry revenue. Both the men and women’s clothing industries have a high competition level with medium technological change and are considered to be in the mature life cycle stage. Key drivers for the clothing industry include the per capita disposable income, the consumer confidence index, and the world price of cotton. As the growth of the economy and the clothing industry are directly correlated, the recent favorable economic growth has led to more discretionary spending on apparel. The Women’s Clothing industry grew at a rate of 2.5 percent from 2010 to 2015 and is projected to grow at a rate of 2.7 percent from 2015 to 2020. In contrast, the Men’s Clothing industry grew at a rate of 4.1 percent from 2010 to 2015 and is projected to grow at a rate of 3 percent from 2015 to 2020 (IBISWorld, 2015). In terms of both industries, companies are anticipated to expand their custom apparel offerings and focus on customer service in order to withstand the competition from online retailers.

Size of the market The US clothing and accessories industry consists of about 100,000 stores. These stores make a combined annual revenue of $180 billion (Hoovers, 2015). The global apparel (and footwear) industry revenue is expected to hit $2 trillion by 2018 (Euromonitor, 2015). Growth trends In order to maintain growth, businesses in the clothing industry will have to keep up with the consumer trends. For starters, the demand for plus-size apparel is growing. Another growing aspect of the retail industry is the “cheap chic” clothing category, which attracts consumers looking for fashion at a value (Hoovers, 2015). Apparel companies are increasing their online outlets, especially e-commerce channels. Online retail sales will outpace overall retail sales in 2015 (S&P Capital IQ, 2015). Key players in Gainesville area The key players in Gainesville, Florida are American Eagle Outfitters, Gap, and Forever 21. There used to be an Abercrombie & Fitch in the Oaks Mall in Gainesville, but it recently closed. Current market share The United States represents the world’s largest branded apparel market with an estimated share of 29.26 percent (PEC Research, 2015). The main market shareholders in the US Women’s Clothing industry are Ascena Retail Group (7.1 percent) and Chico’s FAS Inc. (5.2 percent). In the US Men’s Clothing industry, the

main market shareholder is The Men’s Wearhouse Inc. (20.7 percent) (IBISWorld, 2015). Company Analysis Mission Abercrombie & Fitch wants to represent a specialty retailer that sells diverse products such as sportswear apparel, personal care products, and accessories to target kids and young adults. Abercrombie & Fitch’s mission statement is “Abercrombie & Fitch focuses upon high-quality merchandise that compliments the casual classic American lifestyle” (Retail Industry About, 2015). With clothing designs that embody simplicity and casual luxury, Abercrombie & Fitch has been a standard for the American style. They carefully selected Millennials to be their current target market group, as well as their staff. Through years, Abercrombie & Fitch continues to bring its modern classics with an aspirational look, feel, and attitude. History David Abercrombie & Ezra Fitch were the founders of Abercrombie & Fitch. It was established in 1892 as an upscale sporting goods store. In 1988, The Limited, Inc. bought Abercrombie & Fitch, and Michael Jeffries helped reposition it as the casual luxury brand it is currently known as. Today, Abercrombie and Fitch Co. also operates Abercrombie kids and Hollister Co., as well as their e-commerce sites (Industry Retail About, 2015). Market standing/category share

Abercrombie & Fitch is considered an international casual luxury fashion retailer that is aimed at consumers aged 18 to 24. Operating in about 1,050 stores in Asia, Europe, and North America, the company is continuously expanding internationally (Hoovers, 2015) (IBIS World, 2015). Abercrombie & Fitch have plans of doing more promotions and advertisements to get more people in stores and convert them into prospective customers. As a recognized company, Abercrombie & Fitch will start offering plus-size clothing for all sizes and genders. Product offering Abercrombie & Fitch offers a specialty product with the classification of upscale. They offer a quality brand to their customer. Abercrombie & Fitch offers backpacks, belts, caps, fleece, footwear, fragrances, pants, shirts, jeans, jackets, tank tops, hats, outerwear, footwear, swimwear, shorts, skirts, dresses, etc. (Abercrombie, 2015). Key personnel Arthur C. Martinez, as the Chairman and acting CEO, is the most important person of the Abercrombie & Fitch Company (Hoover, 2015). Former CEO Mike Jeffries is responsible for Abercrombie & Fitch’s current image. When he became CEO in 1992, he transformed the brand. The company’s poor crisis management led to many people shying away from the brand. Jeffries stepped down in 2014. Capital resources Within Michael Jeffries’ first two years as a CEO, Abercrombie & Fitch’s sales doubled, reaching $1 billion (Wikinvest, 2015). The distinctive brand Abercrombie & Fitch became extremely popular among young adults. Through its subsidiaries, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. operates into three segments: U.S stores, international stores,

and direct-to-consumer (e-commerce). The company’s sustained focus is on expanding its global operations and improving its cash flows.

Product/Brand Analysis Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is a specialty retailer selling sportswear apparel, personal care products and accessories for men, women and children. It defines itself as casual luxury brand for young adults, between the ages of 18 to 24, and emphasizes its individual market segment (Hoovers, 2015). Its signature selling strategy is using sexualized marketing in the form of male models that are typically shirtless to stand outside their stores. They also create emotional attachment through smell. Through its stores and direct-to-consumer operations, A&F sells casual sportswear apparel, including shirts, pants, skirts, and outerwear, as well as personal care products and accessories for both men and women (Hoovers, 2015). The company uses a third-party distribution center in the Netherlands for the distribution of merchandise to stores and direct-to-consumer customers located in Europe, a center in Hong Kong for stores located in Asia and Australia, and a center in the UAE for the distribution of merchandise to stores located in the Middle East (Marketline, 2015). Since Abercrombie & Fitch positions itself as causal luxury, its products’ price is above the average of its competitors. For an Abercrombie & Fitch men’s plaid T-shirt, most range from $60 to $70. For jeans, most range from $68 to $78, while some reach up to $88 and $120. For T-shirts, the price ranges from $15 to $34; for hoodies, the price ranges from $70 to $90 (Statista, 2015). The most attractive and unique

characteristic of Abercrombie & Fitch’s packaging is its sexualized marketing materials including photos on storefront windows, gift cards, and shopping bags. For example, they print images of shirtless male models on the shopping bags. Abercrombie & Fitch strategically uses social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter to gain visibility and notoriety with its target market. It also provides seasonal coupons through both its physical and online stores. Costs & Margins The company’s gross margin was decreasing from 64.32% to 63.93% from 201 to 2012, but it slightly increased from 2013 to 2014. For Operating Margin, it increased from 4.03% to 8.3%, from 2010 to 2013, but it dramatically dropped to 1.33% in 2014. The same thing happened to net profit margin. It increased form 0.01% to 5.25% from 2010 to 2013, and it dropped to 1.33%. The operating costs and administration coats have the opposite situation. They were decreasing from 2010 to 2013, and they greatly increased in 2014. In conclusion, Abercrombie & Fitch’s spending is increasing while its profit is decreasing (Proquest Database, 2014) (Appendix 1).

Competitive Analysis Abercrombie & Fitch stores are located in a mall setting, with several other retail stores competing for customers surrounding them. Abercrombie & Fitch consider themselves in the “branded” clothing category, which is high quality brand name clothing that can used at any time during the day. The category of retail/apparel is a very competitive one. There are several stores that offer a variety of styles and needs. A&F’s direct competitors consist of American

Eagle and The Gap (Hoover, 2015). More of their competitors lie in the “fast fashion” stores like H&M and Forever 21 (Fast Company, 2013). The Gap ranked #24 in the top 50 most valuable brands in the US and American Eagle ranked #43 (Interbrand 2014). A&F, H&M and Forever 21 did not rank. These competitors all have different brand positioning, offer different styles of clothing but still have the same target market of young adults age 18-24. These brands are also considered “branded”. Due to the name brand or logo, basic articles of clothing are offered for a heightened price. A plain V-neck at these stores would run a customer $12-$17. For example, if a customer wants an all-American, cool style they would opt for American Eagle. If they were looking for more basic, classic styles they would opt for The Gap. “Fast fashion” stores were developed because people were spending their money on technology, so their clothing budget was diminished (Reuters 2013). These stores kept up with the latest trends by constantly changing their inventory, while still offering low prices became very popular. For example, stores like H&M and Forever 21 offer the latest fashion trends at low prices (Business Insider, 2013). A plain white Vneck at H&M would run a customer $5.95, while at Abercrombie & Fitch, it would run a customer $12. Abercrombie & Fitch’s indirect competitors consist of department stores like JCPenney, Belk, and Macy’s. These are indirect competitors because while they offer apparel it is not the focus of their store. They offer home appliances, kitchen appliances, luggage, etc., in addition to apparel.

Most of the promotion used by A&F direct competitors have been through web and print ads. In 2014, American Eagle spent about $90 million in advertising (US Securities and Exchange Commission, 2015). JCPenney, an indirect competitor, spent $1 billion dollars in advertising in 2013 (Kantar Media, 2014). Companies like H&M and Forever 21 rely on mobile marketing for promotion. Consumer Analysis Abercrombie & Fitch currently targets young adults between 18 to 24 years old. This company aims to represent the youthful all-American lifestyle based on “East Coast tradition and Ivy League heritage” (Hoovers, 2015). Its carefully selected collegeage sales staff and All-American models imbue its stores with an upscale fraternityhouse feel. Their potential to expand a target market lies in consumer-loyalty. Also, in order to increase sales, Abercrombie & Fitch online operations are key drivers to reach potential customers in an area without a customer base that is solid enough to open a new store. The importance of Abercrombie & Fitch products is that these products allow customers to feel comfortable and casual while still maintaining a sense of a luxurious lifestyle. Customers are supposed to identify with the brand by feeling like members of an exclusive group: “cool” people. These young Millennials are usually students at some level of education, with a sexy, and exclusive attitude that makes them feel unique and relevant with others. He or she is an influencer among his or her friends with a classic and sexy lifestyle. The idea perpetuates a good body figure, as Abercrombie & Fitch’s exclusionary policy refuses to extend their lines to larger sizes.

This policy is an essential component of the brand identity and even a factor of attraction for non-customers (Bloomberg, 2015). Since the principal motivator for young adults to shop at Abercrombie & Fitch is to dress as trendy as everyone else, the back-to-school and holiday seasons are the busiest for the company because the target market demand is at its highest (Bloomberg, 2015). Macro-Environmental Analysis Several macro-environmental trends are affecting the retail industry. Current demographic trends indicate that diversity of consumers is expanding as more ethnic groups are growing in the nation. Racial diversity will change how businesses and industries will have to adapt to specific cultural preferences and needs. Due to high birth rates and immigration, Hispanics are growing to an estimated 30 percent, while African-Americans are expected to grow to about 15 percent (Hoovers, 2015). As the issue of gender-equality continues to lead the workforce diversity, sexual orientation profiles are also gaining a foothold (Guenther, Brackley, Bilgrami & Martini, 2014). In 2014, Apple CEO Tim Cook, announced his coming out which emphasized the issue of the LBGT workplace. Other firms such as Yahoo, Google and Facebook have disclosed their diversity figures and paved the way for companies to showcase their commitment to diversity (Guenther, Brackley, Bilgrami & Martini, 2014). Social trends such as social responsibility is also gaining momentum. A survey by Cone Communications and Echo Research found that “87 percent of consumers factor consumer social responsibility into their purchase decisions” (vendhq.com, 2015). By launching ethical initiatives, consumers will feel more fulfilled about how and

where they are spending their money. Vendhq.com also states that retailers are prioritizing risk mitigation and customer data protection as their main concern. Such initiatives include ApplePay, which is a security system that uses a Device Account Number to pay transactions instead of transmitting credit and debit card numbers. Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s global customers prefer to shop through multiple channels, otherwise known as omnichannel shopping, in order to purchase products. Online users are increasing steadily and digital marketing is becoming prevalent in this age. One-stop shops are declining as shoppers are counting both their time and money, and it would be more sustainable to use digital capabilities that enhance customer service to pick up or deliver products more efficiently (Kesteloo, Hodson, 2015). Economically, tough economic conditions can impact businesses too. Acquisitions are more common in cases when business growth is slow, especially when consumers such as Millennials decide to cut discretionary income and reduce spending on small luxuries. In legal trends, businesses are restructuring labor practices to accommodate changing global demographics. For example, Starbucks started to provide college funding for younger workers, and companies in Malaysia are giving tax incentives to accommodate mothers in the workforce (Guenther, Brackley, Bilgrami & Martini, 2014). Environmentally, sustainable methods are increasing in popularity. Waste currency incentivizes recycling to motivate people to adopt an eco-conscious mindset by accepting waste as a form of payment (Hunter & Gutsche, 2014). This example of environmental awareness can help reinforce a positive brand image for consumers. Reclycing is also reinvented as reuse has become aspirational, and brands are using recycling strategies as a marketing platform (Greene, 2014). Â

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Technological trends are shaping how businesses can connect to consumers faster, easier and more effectively. POS evolution, or point-of-sale evolution, is an emerging responsive retail solution that will be able to provide a personalized customer experience and allow retailers to reduce lines and customer service wait times (Honaman, 2015). Personalized, micro-location based alerts are also a trending factor. Honaman mentioned, iBeacon, an Apple wireless technology that can pinpoint the location of a consumer within proximity of a business or outlet and deliver offers and specials at the comfort of their mobile devices. Another trend is the ability to interact with the product virtually, or augmented reality, which engages consumers in building a relationship with a brand by hearing, feelings, or weighing products virtually (Honaman, 2015). According to Acquity Group, seven percent of consumers also own wearable gadgets like watches, glasses and fitness monitors and this figure is expected to double in 2015 (vendhq.com).

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SWOT ANALYSIS Strengths •

Strong presence in the e-

Weaknesses •

commerce business •

Focuses on print advertising as a

part manufacturers •

unique branding position strategy • •

Rely heavily on independent third Poor crisis management regarding allegations of discrimination, etc.

Creates emotional attachment

•

Absence of plus size clothing

through smell

•

Branding exclusiveness when trend

About 300 locations in the U.S. and more than 1,000 stores across 4

is towards inclusiveness •

different brands

Absence of A&F location in Gainesville

•

Sexualized advertising isn’t favorable with parents

•

No social responsibility or environmental agenda

Opportunities •

•

Threats

Expansion of international presence

•

Intense competition

can garner more profit and solidify

•

Increasing labor costs,

success

commodities, and materials in the

Growing mobile market/e-

U.S.

commerce can engage consumers

•

through multiple channels •

Needs to explore emerging markets

changes/conditions •

growth for new customer types •

Opening discount stores/outlets for

“Branded” clothing isn’t cool or trendy

•

affordable options

“Fast Fashion” is dominating in trends

•

Tough economic

Counterfeit goods with lower prices

are more affordable for current target markets Opportunity Recommendation 1) For Abercrombie & Fitch, they run into a problem in terms of their marketing. They have positioned their brand as an exclusive brand that “cool” people wear, even as recent trends have strongly favored individuality and inclusiveness. This has led to a decline in sales and foot traffic in stores. An opportunity to remedy the problem would be for the brand to use social media to diversify their image and re-position themselves as inclusive. 2) In order to raise awareness of this positioning switch towards inclusiveness, Abercrombie & Fitch can use social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram) to target the Millennials. 3) By researching the target group of UF students 18 to 24 year olds, Abercrombie & Fitch can figure out why their target market is deciding to shop at other stores. In addition, they can learn their target market’s current attitudes, beliefs, and desires. By understanding these underlying factors, Abercrombie and Fitch can create a strategy for winning back their target market. 4) The problem with Abercrombie & Fitch is that the values of it’s target market group of 18 – 24 year college student’s has changed and no longer parallel what Abercrombie & Fitch is selling. The recommended opportunity is practical enough because if Abercrombie & Fitch use social media to showcase their new brand image, it will reach a large amount of the target market group. They are known as millennials and they are very receptive to what they view via social media.

5) The recommendation for the usage of social media to reposition the brand as inclusive is supported by the situation analysis. Research Problem Statement Abercrombie & Fitch has experienced declining sales because their target market group of 18-24 year olds is maturing in their style trends, and seeks to increase the overall sales among these Millennials. There is lack of information on the reasons why some young adults are not shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch anymore. For these reasons, primary research on how this target group feels about inclusive versus exclusive trends is needed to determine which factors such as their shopping habits, product awareness, brand perception, and satisfaction are causing the decline in their sales. This research can be justified easily because it will be very inexpensive. The information and data collected would be very valuable and will further Abercrombie and Fitch’s ability to understand the underlying attitudes and beliefs of the target market: 18 to 24 year olds. Informational needs include understanding the target market’s underlying attitudes and beliefs about branded clothing, Abercrombie & Fitch, the shopping experience as well as their self-perceptions.

Proposed Questions for Qualitative Research 1. What are your top 3 favorite clothing brands to shop at? (Specification) 2. Describe what characteristics make you unique. (Structural) 3. What is your ideal “casual” outfit? Typical characteristics of a casual outfit included comfy top, jeans and sneakers. How does your outfit compare to this? (Idealization) 4. Imagine you run into someone on campus, they are wearing branded clothing head to toe. What is your first impression of this individual? (Hypothetical) 5. People who wear branded clothing are _______________. (Sentence completion) 6. We will now ask you to do some word associations. Please say the first thing that comes to mind “Sexy” “Exclusive” “Conformist” “Cool” “Casual-Luxury” “Expensive” “Individualism” “Diversity” (Word Association)

What do you think about their style? Would wear this outfit? What do think they are trying represent?

8. You hear some classmates teasing another classmate about how none of their clothes are name brand. You react by_________.

Proposed Questions for Quantitative Research 1. What is your age? 2. What is your gender? 3. Are you a student? 4. How many times a month do you go clothes shopping? 5. How much money do you spend a month on clothes? 6. How much are you willing to spend on a pair of jeans? 7. How much are you willing to spend on a plain t-shirt? 8. Does your clothing represent you?

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Project 2: Qualitative Research

Introduction Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is a specialty retail store that sells branded “casual luxury” clothes aimed for college students 18 to 24 years old. It was established as a sporting goods emporium for the elite until Michael Jeffries repositioned the brand to target prospective college students in 1992. Due to the brand’s youthful All-American lifestyle based on “East Coast tradition and Ivy League heritage”, female and male college students were the ideal role models for the brand’s image. Based on this information, we selected female and male college students from ages 18 to 24 as our target market group. We conducted secondary research using resources such as digital articles, online databases and established reports. The primary key issue we uncovered in our secondary research was how the target market group is becoming more inclusive than exclusive. Such exclusivity is becoming unpopular among Millennials, who value diversification and individuality more than becoming a conformist in an elite crowd. This trending social perception contributes to Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s decline in sales and foot traffic. In this report, we conducted qualitative research to collect information and data to understand how and why the target market group differs in their beliefs and attitudes about the branded clothing sector, Abercrombie & Fitch, their shopping attitudes and their self-perception.

Problem Statement Abercrombie & Fitch has experienced declining sales because their target market group of 18-24 year olds is maturing in their style trends, and seeks to increase the overall sales among these millennials. There is a lack of information on the reasons why some young adults are not shopping at Abercrombie & Fitch anymore. For these reasons, primary research on how this target group feels about inclusive versus exclusive trends is needed to determine which factors such as their shopping habits, product awareness, brand perception, and satisfaction are causing the decline in their sales. This research can be justified easily because it will be very inexpensive. The information and data collected would be very valuable and will further Abercrombie and Fitch’s ability to understand the underlying attitudes and beliefs of the target market: 18 to 24 year olds. Information that will be generated through research will include understanding the target market’s underlying attitudes and beliefs about branded clothing, Abercrombie and Fitch, the shopping experience, as well as their self-perceptions. Research Objectives One objective of our qualitative focus group study was to find out why Abercrombie and Fitch Co.’s target market group left. Specifically, why 18 to 24 years old college students don't want to shop at Abercrombie and Fitch Co. anymore and what causes them to leave. Secondly, our qualitative focus group study is conducted to know why their perception of Abercrombie and Fitch has changed. Specifically, how

they perceived Abercrombie and Fitch before and how their opinions changed now. The final objective of our research was to gain insight of the target market’s underlying attitudes and beliefs about branded clothing, Abercrombie and Fitch Co., the shopping experience, and their self-perceptions. Research Method Justification for Qualitative Research Our team needed to use qualitative research to gain insight into the underlying thoughts and feelings of our target market. In order to get this personal and often subconscious information out of our research participants, we needed to use probing open-ended questions in a free-flowing, conversational structure like a focus group. To hear shoppers and non-shoppers of Abercrombie and Fitch put their opinions into their own words was more important at this point of the research than a closed-ended survey. It allowed our research frame to be expanded by the new ideas and themes brought up by the participants in the focus groups. The qualitative research, which in our case was two focus groups, highlighted potential strengths and weaknesses that supported our secondary research findings, but would not have shown up in quantitative research due to the lack of probing and projective techniques. We were able to learn the reasons why our participants felt the way they did about Abercrombie & Fitch and branded clothing rather than statistics about what their shopping experience entails. Justification for Focus Groups We chose to conduct focus groups instead of personal interviews because the focus group’s interactive discussion would be more stimulating and thought provoking

than a personal interview. Also, a conversation conducted in a homogeneous group (we separated the focus groups into shoppers and non-shoppers of Abercrombie & Fitch) is less stressful to participate in than an on-on-one interview with a moderator. In addition, the focus groups were quicker for our team to conduct and analyze. We felt it necessary to have a focus group instead of personal interviews in order to have the conversation active enough where it wouldn’t give time for respondents to filter their answers. In our focus groups, participants played off each other’s responses which took the stress off of coming up with the “correct answer” every time a moderator asked a question. Procedure We conducted two focus groups: people who shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch in the last six months and people who had not shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch in the last six months. To be included in our focus groups, participants had to be between the ages of 18 to 24 and a college student. The first focus group consisted of people who shop at Abercrombie and Fitch Co. and was conducted on Wednesday, June 3, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. The second focus group, which consisted of people who did not shop at Abercrombie and Fitch Co., was conducted on Thursday, June 4, 2015 at 5:30 p.m. Both focus groups were conducted in Weimer Hall, Room 2066. The two groups varied from 45 to 50 minutes. The focus group was recorded by a video camera and was later transcribed. The focus group started with the moderator who welcomed everyone, introduced the other team members, and got the participants to fill out the informed consent form and screener. The participants were offered pizza and soda. The

moderator then defined the purpose of the focus group and laid down rules such as silencing their cell phones and being respectful of other people’s opinions. The ice breaker used was “Let’s all state our names, age, major, and a food that your could eat for the rest of your life”. Following this, we delved into the main topics. Examples of questions the moderator used to generate discussion among the participants included: •

Imagine you run into someone on campus, they are wearing branded clothing, for example the logo and brand name are visible, head to toe. What is your first impression of this individual? (Hypothetical)

•

If Abercrombie and Fitch was a celebrity, who would they be? (Personification)

•

Can you describe an advertisement that you have seen from Abercrombie? (Specification)

•

What is important to you when you choose a brand of clothing? (Structural) Each question was open to all participants and was discussed until the topic

was exhausted or a new idea was brought up (by either a participant or the moderator). At the end of the focus group (when the moderator had completed all questions and topics on the moderator guide), the moderator asked the teammates if they had any additional questions. After these questions were asked and answered, the participants were thanked and dismissed. Instruments For our focus group we used three instruments: a pre-screener, an informed consent form and a moderator guide. These three instruments allowed the focus group to operate smoothly with every participant being informed of the purpose and procedures of the study.

A pre-screener is used in order to determine if the participant fits the criteria in order to be a part of the focus group. Depending on how they answered, they would be dismissed, invited to group A or invited to group B. This is how we used our prescreener. We asked them questions on their age, whether or not they were college students, if they have participated in a focus group and if they were a part of our ADV 3500 class (refer to appendix 1 for pre-screener). We then had a consent form. A consent form is used to inform the participants about the study and receive their permission to continue in the study. Our consent form informed the participants that they were going to be filmed for research purposes and that we will be viewing the tapings at a later time for research purposes. We then had them sign on the line if they agreed to this (refer to appendix 2 for consent form). The participants filled the pre-screener and the consent form before the focus groups were conducted. The moderator, the individual that is leading the discussion in the focus group, uses a moderator guide. Our moderator guide included an introduction that informed the participants what they were going to be asked and inform them that they had the right to leave the study at any time. It also explained the purpose of this study and what to expect in the focus group. It also mentioned that the time spent here was made to have open discussion and that everyone has the floor to speak on how they really feel. They did not have to agree with other participants but they had to respect them. Our moderator guide also had an icebreaker that allowed us to get the participants comfortable with each other. We asked them to state their name, age, major and what food could they eat for the rest of their life. Â

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The questions in the moderator guide were used to foster discussions in the categories of branded clothing market, Abercrombie & Fitch, shopping attitudes and self-perception. These questions induced discussion that lead to supplemental questions during the focus groups. Participants We recruited our participants via the social media platform of Facebook. The individuals we recruited were 18-24 year old college students who have shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in the last six months and who have not shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in the last six months. Five female college students made up focus group A, and their average age was 19. They had recently shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and were all college students. Their majors included Advertising, Engineering, and Sociology . The focus group lasted for about 45 minutes. Three female and three male college students made up group B, and their average age was 20. They had not recently shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. and were all college students. Their majors included Finance, Telecommunications, Anthropology and Engineering. This focus group lasted about 45 minutes as well. Both groups were well aware of the brand of Abercrombie & Fitch. They had to be aware of the brand in order to participate in the focus group.

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Findings Through our focus groups, we collected insightful data that uncovered a series of trends between shoppers who do purchase from Abercrombie & Fitch and nonshoppers who do not purchase from Abercrombie & Fitch. Their beliefs, attitudes and opinions contributed to findings that outline why Abercrombie & Fitch’s target market left and why their perception has changed. Such results among each section revealed themes such as personal style, price, popularity and brand positioning (refer to Appendix 4 for shoppers and Appendix 5 for non-shoppers) The following research outlines relevant results from both of our focus group studies. Our study suggests that the problem lies within Abercrombie & Fitch. Individuals are more comfortable with who they are, so they purchase products based on their personality, interests and needs. The brand reflects a standard that used to define superficial coolness and beauty. However, such exclusionary policies have alienated and offended consumers. Such bad publicity have furthered and redefined people’s perceptions of the brand. Branded Clothing Market Non-Shoppers To gain insight into non-shopper’s opinions of the branded clothing market, we asked questions to gage the participants’ attitudes toward the clothing sector. The majority of the participants who were asked what they thought of consumers wearing brand clothing have said that they do not think much of them. Using words such as

“normal”, “consumers”, and “mall-shoppers”, they also expressed that it was just an indication of consumer’s shopping habits and destinations. However, some respondents have considered other circumstances such as specific luxury brands they wear. For example, one respondent noted that consumers wearing a Gucci brand can suggest their level of income. Depends on the brand. If it’s like, what if it is like Gucci or something? I wouldn’t be able to recognize it. If it was something I could recognize it, then I’d be like wow they have a lot of money. But if it is like Hollister or Abercrombie I wouldn’t think much of it. We then inquired further about visible brand recognition on clothing and if it affects their shopping decisions. Some respondents have said that it does not impede their shopping choices, but one respondent prefers plain tees without any brand indicator. I don’t mind if it’s in the bottom right corner. For some reason I don’t like it in the top. I guess I like plain clothes, obviously plain black tee. I don’t know. I don’t like wearing brands. In terms of a brand’s marketing or advertising campaign, participants agreed that it does affect how they shop. One respondent remarked that it might have a subconscious affect, while another respondent noted how it does affect his preferences and whether or not to go buy the brand, specifically if the campaign is unappealing. In addition, most respondents haven’t seen any advertisements of A&F’s competitors (H&M, The Gap, American Eagle, Forever 21). I won’t go to places where I don’t like their advertisements but that’s just me.

To eliminate financial barriers, we asked the participants to name their brands of choice when it came to having an unlimited budget. Our research suggests that participants would shop according to their preferences, not necessarily for brand name. I probably wouldn’t try and save money. So if like I see a $1000 shirt I like I’d buy it. But like if I see a $10 shirt that I like, I’m still going to buy it. All based on if I like it. Shoppers In comparison with non-shoppers, some shoppers who responded to the question of how they view an individual with visible branded clothing have said that if it were an expensive brand, they would view the individual as a “show-off”. In addition, respondents agreed that people who wear branded clothing are “normal”, indicating that it’s common to wear clothing with visible brands. I think they are trying hard to show how much money they have based on the clothing they wear. In reaction to shopping behaviors based on visible logo clothing, our research received a collective negative feedback. The majority of the respondents said they do not like logos, specifically “humongous” logos. Our analyses based on their responses indicate that sizes of brand logos do matter in their shopping behavior, however it is perceived as typical that logos in general are perceptible in outwears. I don’t like the humongous logos. If you can see it tiny, I don’t care but if you can see if from here to there, then I care. In correspondence to a brand’s marketing and advertising campaign, there was a variety of responses that affected whether or not they shopped there. One

respondent affirmed that it does affect her shopping behavior because it pertained to her interests. Another respondent targeted her products based on her needs, not particularly a brand. Overall, our research suggested that shoppers of A&F are focusing on individual needs and interests rather than a brand’s advertising. They are actively pursuing their intents without advertisement campaigns to invite them. It depends, if there’s something I’m looking for, say I’m looking for a specific item, I’ll open several tabs in my browser and I’m like, okay, let’s start. Forever 21, H&M, etc. and I’ll start looking for it but at least like what she (Respondent 5) said, if I see something specific on TV, I’ll look for it but in general I’d go through all of them. In reference to a study that stated that Millennials are spending more income on technology than on clothing, all participants reported that they are spending more money on clothes than on technology. This finding suggests that high-involvement, costly purchases are bought infrequently because commonalities such as laptop and cellphone are the only essentials needed for a college environment. Given the chance to obtain an unlimited budget have prompted some respondents to name both luxuryclothing brands and alternative goods such as an iPad. Yea clothing for me, I mean I bought my laptop, that’s like the last piece of technology I bought. Abercrombie & Fitch Non-Shoppers To address Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s brand image among non-shoppers, we evaluated their opinions on our client about various aspects of the brand. We first inquired about whether or not they purchase clothes from A&F, and we received a unanimous no from all respondents, specifically because they noted it was an

uncomfortable environment (overwhelming smell of perfume). When asked about the Millennial perception of A&F, one respondent noted how it was “dying out”. Another cited how movies portrayed A&F as the “wealthy jerk”, which hurt the brand. These responses imply that A&F is becoming unpopular. Yeah I think they reached their like, first I don’t think they are as popular. So I think that’s the problem. Movies for a while like portrayed Abercrombie & Fitch like the jerk, the really wealthy kid, like you know who was like a jerk. You know put them in a collared shirt and nice clothes and it end up hurting the brand. Shifting the discussion to how other brands compare to A&F, respondents were asked to state where they shopped and why they shop there. We found that factors such as quality, affordable prices and trendiness are all attributes that participants look for in a clothing brand. Such brands mentioned by some participants include H&M and Express. To supplement these attitudes, we then questioned what they immediately thought of different brands (The Gap, American Eagle, Forever 21, H&M) as we listed them. Our research suggested that elements such as popular items, level of trendiness, quality, and price are their key impressions of a brand among the target market. A&F received responses like, “polo”, “over priced”, “dark”, and “high school”, which implies outdated, negative impressions. Teams were created to also perceive the differences between different styles of clothing according to each brand. Our findings indicated while some teams chose the wrong brand to the outfit, there were overlapping styles in each outfit that confused the participants. Others have recognized distinct styles of brands and chose correctly. In an Abercrombie & Fitch picture, one team pointed out the “skinny” figure of the model

and the flip-flops while another team said it seemed like H&M because it looked European. The responses confirmed that A&F’s exclusionary policy regarding sizes are recognized by non-shoppers. This perpetuates undesirable views of the brand. Our analysis of this finding suggests that brands are known generally for specific products and how each product is advertised, but style and look can overlap among all brands. In this case, A&F’s advertisements are recognizable, but the entire look by itself can be construed as a different brand image. Well I said it was because she was way too skinny and the flip-flops. To address how the progression of A&F changed, we explored the timeline of A&F’s consumers in school terms. Our research indicated that A&F primarily was worn among students in middle school suggesting a displacement of A&F’s target market. Further questioning also found that middle school students with higher-level incomes wear A&F. Middle school and like elementary maybe. Like I don’t know like a lot people would wear it, people who had money Shoppers This focus group of shoppers confirmed that they currently purchase clothes from Abercrombie & Fitch, but our research found that they predominantly buy jeans. Findings suggested they value familiarity with certain products, specifically quality as a primary feature. This characterizes consumer loyalty. When asked about the Millennial perception of A&F, the majority of the group noted the high prices and the preppy outlook. Some indicated that the brand’s styles and selection of clothing aren’t suitable

for Millennials. Our findings suggested that the lack of selection as well as style contributed to the absence of Millennial presence. Like she said a very preppy style and not everybody fits these clothes When we asked participants to state other stores, besides A&F, they shopped at, most respondents have said they have purchased from stores that were more affordable. The majority also agreed that factors such as cuteness and sales determines their shopping habits as well. To evaluate the impressions of other competing brands, each participant were asked to state a word that comes to mind immediately as we listed each brand (The Gap, American Eagle, Forever 21, H&M). Common replies that described all said brands included, “casual”, “good/nice”, and “stylish”, price was only mentioned in two brands: Forever 21 and A&F, which highlighted their different key features. A&F received responses like, “preppy”, “expensive”, and “stylish”, which connotes relevant and positive attributes of A&F. Teams of shoppers were created to also perceive the differences between different styles of clothing according to each brand. According to our research, both teams of shoppers sorted the pictures with female models similarly. However, there were some discrepancies between both teams when sorting pictures with male models. After some probing, we discovered that our participants of females shop individually according to their distinctive styles; not anyone else’s. In addition, because of their familiarity with store clothing items, they were more confident with their choices. Furthermore, the similarities of styles have created overlap among some brands’ image as well, which suggests A&F’s style of clothing can be synonymous with

other brands’ styles, however acquaintance with the brand beforehand aided their recognition. These findings suggest that other fashion brands have provided consumers with a diverse affordable selection of styles that have brought shoppers away from expensive brand names such as A&F. In general, I think I’ve seen so much advertising for the stores that already have the idea, you see on the models or on tv and the posters. I kind of have the idea.

Attitudes About Shopping Non-Shoppers To gain information about one of our research objectives, we focused on the participant’s attitudes on various aspects of their shopping habits. Through the research we conducted we found several factors that prevent these shoppers from buying Abercrombie & Fitch clothing. The characteristics and qualities important to the non-shoppers about a store varied from the dressing rooms to the space to the lighting. Most of the respondents agreed that space is the most important characteristic of a store. On the contrary to the shoppers group, the non-shoppers of Abercrombie & Fitch agreed that they would not be willing to buy online because of several factors including price, color mismatch (sometimes online the color is not properly represented in the photo) and the shipping fee. According to one respondent, a pro of online shopping a respondent said was that the return was convenient. You just put it into box and you don't have to go to the post office.

A common factor on what made a piece of clothing a “must-have” in this group was that it had to fit comfortably. Half of the respondents agreed that they would spend more money on technology than on clothing. However, if the person were depending on the budget the majority would prefer to buy clothing on a limited budget. I just think that $500 up front, in the economy of scale, you can get a lot of clothing for like cheaper versus if you buy an iPhone so like $500 can go a long way for clothing, but technology is more durable. The respondents agreed that if a brand is seen being involved in a controversial topic that it would impact on whether or not they shop at that store. Some of the respondents even agreed that if a store has bad advertising it will stop them from shopping there. Well…I mean, I would not be attracted by some advertising because some stuffs just like… the things in the Barbie shop, and I wouldn't shop at that store. Shoppers Some of the physical characteristics and qualities respondents in the shoppers group look for in a store varied from the music playing, the customer service and how crowded the store is while they are shopping. All the respondents agreed on the idea that to shop in a store the items have to be well organized and easy to see for them to feel motivated to shop. In addition, the majority of the shoppers agreed that they were okay with buying clothing online. They mentioned that even not knowing the quality of the clothes; the shipping fee and time they have to wait to receive it can affect their decision to shop online. They all agreed that through online shopping they could find variety, save gas and avoid hassle. The majority mentioned that they would be willing

to buy online at Abercrombie & Fitch because they already know their sizes and fits from previous shopping experiences. They said that through online shopping customers could easily compare clothing prices and items with other stores in order to shop efficiently. Important characteristics of a “must have” article of clothing includes the quality of the item, the price and the degree of comfort. Self-Perception Non-Shoppers: Self-perception is an important factor on choosing what to shop. To gain information about how the participant relates with their style and how they communicate with what they wear we asked several questions regarding their personal ideals and opinions. For the non-shoppers, all the participants said that they do not consider themselves as “trendy.” I just…I don't really care. I just like the stuff I’m wearing and it seems to be the least I should worry about. …And just like the regular way I want to wear. The respondents said that they do not follow any social media platform to inform them what to wear. They only go to the stores to find something to wear. But similar to the participants of the shoppers group, the style that a person has represents who the person is. Like if you wear Abercrombie & Fitch, people may think you are a high school jerk…so I think people may be stereotyped a little bit…

When choosing brand clothing the participants of the non-shoppers category look for value and quality. The stores that they buy from are mostly American Eagle and Target. For many, a casual outfit includes jeans and a comfy shirt. All the respondents agree with the idea that the way a person expresses themselves by the way he or she dresses can affect how people perceive him or her. I don’t think people would take Emma Watson seriously as they do if she dressed like if she dressed like trashy, they wouldn’t take her seriously. She dresses like serious and she’s like woo! So they take her seriously. For kids wearing Abercrombie & Fitch back at school the respondent would consider them as “cool kids” Because they were like the richer kids at my school.

Shoppers Contrary to what the non-shoppers said, all of the participants of the shoppers group agreed that they considered themselves as trendy. Trendiness is an important factor that affects their shopping. They all agreed that through social media they keep up with fashion trends. The majority use Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest to follow the new trends on the market. For most of them they agreed that their style represents who they are. If you are wearing something it is because you like it and if you like it, it represent who you are or how you look.

Important factors the respondents considered when choosing a brand of clothing were quality, price and variety. For clothing brands, most said Forever 21 and H&M and one participant said American Apparel. Forever 21 is like super close to my house and has like a wide variety. It is cheap and you can find cute clothes. We also discussed about the ideal casual outfit and for the participants said it depended on different factors, including the season. I’d say jeans and-it depends on where I’m going-change into a t-shirt and also, flip flops or sneakers. Depends on the season. Summer: shorts, cute t-shirt. In winter, jeans and a long sleeve top. For the night, almost all of the participants agree on using the color black. Most of the respondents had uniforms in their middle and high school years so clothing and style was not a priority to them during this time period. The moderator then asked them if that was not the situation then, would it have been different. Almost everybody agreed with the idea of fitting in during high school. However, in college, they only want to feel comfortable. It would definitely be different cause like in middle or high school, you are trying to fit in. like are you going to be popular and make friends, so of course you need to look good. I feel like when you are older you are more comfortable with yourself so you don’t care what other people think of you.

A similarity for both the non-shoppers and shoppers was that if they were given an unlimited budget they would shop at high end luxurious stores such as Chanel, Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Marc Jacobs and Christian Louboutin. Non-shoppers noted that if they did not know what the A and the F stood for, they would think it stood “American Fashion”, meaning that A&F could be considered a patriotic brand for them because they “don’t find as much worldwide”. Meanwhile shoppers mentioned something similar as well. They said if they would think it would stand for “American Freedom”.

Future Quantitative Research Based on what we uncovered from our qualitative research through both of our focus groups, we were able to discover specific topics and themes from our participants that allowed us to get a deeper understanding of our research objectives. With these specific topics and themes it will allow us to move on to the next step of quantitative research. Quantitative research will allow us to generalize our target market group’s perception of Abercrombie & Fitch. While conducting both of our focus groups we were able to uncover underlying problems, feelings, thoughts and opinions from both individuals who have shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch and individuals who have not shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch. With qualitative research we were able to get a better understanding of not only how the participants perceived Abercrombie & Fitch but how they perceived branded clothing, how they perceived themselves and some of their shopping attitudes. With these findings it will allow us to develop quantitative research in the form of a survey. Quantitative research can be a survey, observation or physiological. It is a more efficient way to reach a larger group of individuals. Surveys include Internet surveys, mail-in surveys or on telephone surveys. For our research purposes we are going to administer an online survey. The survey will be randomly distributed to college students ages 18-24. We cannot perform observational or physiological research because unfortunately the Abercrombie & Fitch store at the Oaks Mall has closed.

Surveys will allow us to gain statistical analyses between our two groups of shoppers and non-shoppers.

Project 3: Quantitative Research

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Introduction Prior to conducting the following quantitative research, our group performed secondary and qualitative research. Through these research steps, we identified a common target market for Abercrombie & Fitch: college students between the age of 18 to 24. From the secondary research we established a better understanding of the consumer being targeted. Upon performing two focus groups of eleven UF undergraduate students (five for shoppers and six for non-shoppers), we learned key insights into the logic behind how our target thinks and feels toward Abercrombie & Fitch. Our secondary research included consultation of online databases about the current state of Abercrombie & Fitch and its relationship to the target market group. As a result of this research, we discovered that “millennials” are thinking less about exclusivity and more about inclusivity. Their style trends are maturing and their values do not coincide with what Abercrombie & Fitch is trying to represent. This trend was the basis for our qualitative research. We continued by creating a moderator guide with questions based on our findings from the secondary research. From this, we learned that current shoppers are more fashion forward and trendy and they believe Abercrombie & Fitch is still popular. In contrast, non-shoppers are not concerned with trendiness and they perceive Abercrombie & Fitch as unpopular. However, two groups both think affordability, comfort, and quality are their primary concerns. Based on

these finding we concluded that quantitative research in the form of an online survey distributed to our target market would help us better understand how our target perceives Abercrombie & Fitch and their relative shopping attitudes/behaviors. Problem Statement Abercrombie and Fitch has experienced declining sales because their target market group of 18-24 year old college students are maturing in their style trends, and seeks to increase the overall sales among these millennials. While the primary qualitative research was crucial for understanding the target market’s underlying feelings about Abercrombie and Fitch, the shopping experience, self-perceptions and branded clothing, we also need to do primary, quantitative research in order to generalize the sample to the population. This quantitative research will be inexpensive and easy to code. Information that will be generated through this research will include the target market’s shopping habits, self-perceptions about trendiness, preferences towards different clothing brands, features of clothing, values of the consumer, and perceived values of clothing brands. Research Objectives The first objective our quantitative survey was to get statistical data on our target market group on their attitudes about shopping. Specifically, how much they would on average spend a month on clothing. Another objective was to generalize the perception and positioning this target market group currently has of Abercrombie & Fitch. Specifically, what values they perceived Abercrombie & Fitch is representing and what they generally thought about the brand. Our third objective was to get statistical data on where this target market group is currently shopping at and why they are

shopping there, as well as their perception of other brands that happen to be Abercrombie & Fitch’s competitors. Our final objective of our quantitative research was to gain insight on how this target market group perceives themselves. We asked them questions about their personal style and their personal values so we can compare them to the values they perceived Abercrombie & Fitch to have. Concepts of Interest There are specific concepts on interest that will explore and evaluate the results of our quantitative data. Based on our findings from the primary qualitative research, these ideas will further our insights on Abercrombie & Fitch and its attitudes and beliefs of its target market. The concepts of interest will be used to analyze and identify female and male college student responses, which will foster future improvements for Abercrombie & Fitch in regards to increasing sales and foot traffic. The first concept in interest centers on the opinions towards Abercrombie & Fitch’s characteristics as a brand. Further research can be helpful to determine what problems of A&F’s presentation that consumers do not like. This also sheds light on what consumers favor that engages them to shop at a brand clothing store. This concept was identified in our qualitative research when participants expressed their opinions that shape their shopping experiences. By building on this foundation, we can detect A&F’s current faults in their advertising/marketing plots and brand image as well as their key qualities. The second concept of interest focuses on the target market’s shopping attitudes. These insights may further our study on what consumers like, dislike and their shopping habits. By applying this knowledge, we could determine how

consumers engage with a brand and how it affects A&F. Our qualitative research indicates a behavioral pattern among shoppers and non-shoppers alike and additional analyses could further our study on consumer shopping behavior. The third concept of interest addresses the self-perception of the target market. Our survey can develop insights on what motivates them to shop. Information on this interest can advance our knowledge on how current consumers develop their sense of style and how they respond to advertising/marketing campaigns. This concept of this interest was identified in our primary qualitative research when shoppers and nonshoppers expressed different levels of trendiness and personal values. The fourth concept of interest aims to identify awareness and opinions on brand market clothing. Our qualitative research study found that consumers, shopper and non-shoppers alike, are leaning towards clothing brands that are more affordable as well as exhibit diverse selection of products in available sizes. By focusing on this interest, we can evaluate the competitive framework of A&F and measure what consumers of brand clothing like to see and purchase. Research Method Justification For Quantitative Research To further explore the findings from our qualitative research, we needed to use quantitative research to gain insight from a more reliable and objective method where we could use statistics to generalize the results and compare and contrast groups created through classifying questions. To evaluate the opinions of a large population, we conducted a random online survey that helped us evaluate the positioning of Abercrombie & Fitch in the mind of the target market and find statistics on the

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shopping experience, the branded clothing market, consumers’ self-perceptions, and the brand itself.

Justification For Online Survey In order to fulfill the informational needs of our research project, a Qualtrics survey was the necessary research method in this stage for multiple reasons.

begin, online surveys are an efficient way to reach a large amount of individuals. Also data collection is very quick, as questionnaires from multiple members of the sample can be processed simultaneously, and cost are typically lower versus other forms of data collection. The online survey is also an effective form of research because it keeps the findings within the confines of our research needs; conversation will not stray away like in a focus group. Additionally, the survey was formatted with questions that had been discussed due to the findings of the focus group. As a result, we were able to get more generalized responses about the views of the target audience in regards to their self-perception, attitudes toward shopping, branded clothing market and Abercrombie & Fitch. Procedure SquAD, as a group, held a meeting in order to create a Qualtrics survey for the quantitative part of our project. We discussed the results we got from the focus group and the main points needed in the survey. In our meeting, all the members agreed that we had to address questions that would give us a better understanding of the target market group’s attitudes, perceptions, and behaviors about Abercrombie and Fitch. The survey was created and conducted over Qualtrics and consisted of 32 questions

total. Once the survey was completed, it was shared on different Facebook group pages, friend’s profiles, and through email. The initial question was the introduction, and the pre-screener were two questions at the beginning of the survey that asked the survey-taker’s age and education. If they did not fit into the target market group of 18 to 24 year old college students, they were discontinued from the survey. For example, if someone chose 17 years old or younger or 25 years and older, they were discontinued from the survey. For our target market, we separated it into two different groups: “shoppers” and “non-shoppers.” The pre-screener received different completition percentages for different questions such as gender, age, and academic level. In total, the pre-screener received 150 responses, with 126 people saying they were students in college and the rest saying they were not college students. With 105 female responses and 29 male responses, we had total of 138 responses of participants who qualified our target market (18-24 years old). However, the prescreener also received 4 responses of participants who were 17 years or younger, and 8 responses of people who were 25 years and older. The estimated time of the survey was from 10 to15 minutes. As a group, we tried to be specific with the questions by dividing them in different segments such as the concept of Abercrombie and Fitch, the usage of the brand, consumption, the atmosphere of the store, self-perceptions, preferences, demographic, opinions, and convenience. These segments fall under four main categories: Abercrombie and Fitch, the branded clothing market, the shopping experience, and consumers’ self-perceptions. With all these questions, we were able to identify our different target groups and divide them in categories in order to better understand our findings.

Instruments The first instrument we used was the Qualtrics program, and it was used to conduct the survey. In the survey, we first had a participant answer screener questions that asked if they had the correct age (18 to 24 years old), if they were in college and what level of education they had. By conducting the survey in this way, we were able to highlight our target market and get the exact information for our research. The second instrument we used was the questionnaire survey conducted in Qualtrics that contained the rest kind of questions such as self-perceptions, styles, atmosphere, etc. This survey was distributed across many Facebook groups such as “ University of Florida Class of 2016” and the “University of Florida Class of 2017.” Also, it was distributed to our friends and classmates. The survey basically consisted of 32 questions from general to specific kinds of questions. During the survey, participants were asked different types of questions such as dichotomous, multiple choice, openended, level of agreement, and rank order. The variety of questions we created helped us gain generalized results, and participants were instructed to give adequate and accurate responses. In this way, we gained deeper insight into what college students or participants thought of Abercrombie and Fitch and background information that could lead to reasons why the brand has been struggling. For example, the rating questions allowed us to get a better idea on how the target market group positions the brand. We also involved social media in our questions to see how the social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest influenced people or not. With this method, we were able to identify if the participants shared environmental concerns and perspectives about Abercrombie and Fitch as a brand.

Participants We recruited our participants via the social media platform of Facebook and through team members’ friends. We recruited participants between the ages of 18-24 years old that were also college students. Then we broke the participants into two groups: those who have shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch in the last six months and those who haven’t shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch in the last six-months. Using the media platform (Facebook) and word of mouth, we were able to get in total 150 responses in the survey conducted in Qualtrics. The pre-screener classified the participants in different categories such as ages, gender, and education level. Then, we tried to specify if they were shoppers or non-shoppers of our brand. There were 138 responses with the exact ages that gave us insight understanding about their attitudes, behaviors, concerns, opinions, and self-perceptions. During the survey, we asked demographic questions about participants’ age, gender, if they were a college student (and if so, what year), and if they were an international student. The participants were recruited internationally and nationally. Also, the majority of the participants ranged from first to fourth year college students(freshman to senior), but some respondents identified as entering their 5th or higher year of college. The majority of the participants were females with a total of 105 responses and the remaining 29 responses were male. Participants had to be aware of the brand of Abercrombie & Fitch in order to participate.

Findings One hundred and fifty participants completed our online survey to some degree. However, due to our screener questions, 12 people were either 17 or younger or 25 or older and were discontinued from the survey and eight people were not college students and they were also discontinued from the survey. One of our questions was whether or not the survey-taker was a shopper of Abercrombie and Fitch. This helped us split the survey-takers into shoppers of Abercrombie and Fitch (will be referred to as shoppers from here on out) and non-shoppers of Abercrombie and Fitch (will be referred to as non-shoppers), like we did with our two focus groups during our qualitative research. Twenty-five people answered that they were shoppers and 99 answered that they were non-shoppers (Appendix 11). The participants who identified as shoppers mostly bought jeans and tops from Abercrombie and Fitch. Speaking in general terms, both shoppers and non-shoppers shopped for clothing the same amount of times and picked the same factors of importance in a clothing brand and a piece of clothing. However, shoppers of Abercrombie and Fitch spent more on clothes than non-shoppers. Shoppers of Abercrombie and Fitch believed the brand was still popular, while the non-shoppers disagreed. Both groups viewed Abercrombie and Fitch as a store most related to middle school. The majority of participants self identified themselves as trendy. In our statistical analyses, we used frequency, mean, and mode. Â

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Attitudes about shopping The survey asked the participants a series a questions that would help us generalize the target market group’s attitudes about shopping. We asked the participants how many times they went shopping in a month. For the non-shoppers their average value was 1.60, it means that non-shoppers go shopping for clothes between 0-1 times and 2-3 times a month. The shoppers’ average value for this question was 1.76. It was a .16 higher than non-shoppers but it still meant the same thing, shoppers on average shop between 0-1 and 2-3 times a month. On average (based on the mode) the non-shoppers spend around $21-$40 dollars a month on clothing, compared to the shoppers that spend around $41-$60 a month on clothing. Even though they are going the same amount of times a month to a mall, the shoppers are spending more in a month. This was backed up with the results from the next two questions. The participants were asked how much they were willing to spend on a pair of jeans and a plain t-shirt. Non-shoppers responded that they were willing spend $21-$30(Appendix 13) on a pair of jeans and $6-$10 on a plain t-shirt. The shoppers’ on the other hand responded that they were willing to spend $31-$40 on a pair of jean (Appendix 12) and $11-$15 on plain t-shirt. Abercrombie & Fitch’s current prices line up with what shoppers are willing to spend on an article of clothing. For example, a plain t-shirt at A&F will run a customer $12 and that falls in the range for the shoppers, while for non-shoppers it is clearly out of their range.

Participants were asked to rank in order of importance factors of a clothing brand. They were asked to rank customer service, quality of products, selection of products, reputation and store layout. The most important factor to both nonshoppers and shoppers was the quality of products from the clothing brand. During our secondary research process we uncovered a study by Reuters mentioning that this target market group of 18-24 year olds was spending more money on technology than on clothing. Our results from our quantitative research did not parallel this. The participants were asked how much would they spend on technology and on clothing if given a $2000 budget. For the non-shoppers the average amount they put for clothing was $1,017.52 and their average for technology was $995.41. Compared to the shoppers whose average amount for how much they would spend on clothing was $1,122.73 and their average amount for technology $877.27. While both groups both spent more of their budget on clothing, comparing the amounts from nonshoppers and shoppers, the non-shoppers are more likely to spend $118.14 more on technology than the shoppers. The non-shoppers and shoppers share a similar shopping attitude: they both shop based on their interests. Out of the 99 non-shopper participants, 55 percent said that they shop based on their interest. On the other hand, out of the 25 shoppers, 64 percent said they shop based on their interest. Based on these results it is clear that the non-shoppers and shoppers share similar attitudes about shopping, with the consistent exception of the shoppers spending a bit more on clothing than the non-shoppers. Besides the actual amount of

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spending, they are similar on the facts that the most important thing to them in a brand is quality and they both shop on interests. Abercrombie & Fitch With this survey we wanted to generalize our findings on how this target market perceived Abercrombie & Fitch and get a better understanding as to why. The participants were asked to rank who was most likely to wear Abercrombie & Fitch based on their level of education. Even though the shoppers that took our survey were college students, the level of education that both shoppers and non-shoppers put as mostly likely to wear Abercrombie & Fitch was middle school, and second most likely was high school. This parallels what was discussed in the focus groups. Both shoppers and non-shoppers who participated in the focus group mentioned that Abercrombie & Fitch was popular mostly in middle and high school. When asked if they considered if Abercrombie & Fitch was still a popular brand, 61 percent of the non-shoppers said no and 39 percent of the non-shoppers said yes. For the shoppers, 64 percent of them said yes, it was still a popular brand, and 36 percent said no. Depending on what the participant answered, they were then asked to explain why they did or did not consider it a popular brand. For the non-shoppers some common words that were used to describe why it was not a popular brand were “overrated”, “discrimination” and “identical”. Their clothes are hardly ever updated. They do not represent current styles. Their company culture and values are terrible. There's no representation of diversity. There have been so many controversies surrounding this brand that I think a lot of people have been turned off by the brand.

Poor public relations for A&F has led their brand name less desirable to be worn. Less desirability means people are less willing to pay their prices with cheaper substitutes that look identical with a more popular brand name. Popular words among non-shoppers who considered Abercrombie & Fitch a popular brand were “trendy”, “pretty” and “quality”. It's very well known and pretty trendy. Because many people still use it. They have a specific clothing style in their products that appeal to many people despite price For the shoppers, common words used to describe why Abercrombie & Fitch was not considered a popular brand anymore included “reputation”, “faded” and “middle school”. The brand has faded. Better brands have come out. I think other brands are outrunning it. Being that its more the middle school crowd that shops there maybe that’s why I don’t think it’s as popular. Common words from the shoppers who still considered Abercrombie & Fitch popular were “fashionable”, “young” and “students”. Everybody knows the shop. Because a lot of people still wear it. I know a lot of people who used it.

In order to see how this target market group has positioned Abercrombie & Fitch we asked them to select from a list of words that they believe are Abercrombie & Fitch’s values. We retrieved these words from quotes from Mike Jefferies and Abercrombie & Fitch’s website. There were seven values for the participants to select from. The top three values both non-shoppers and shoppers believed were Abercrombie & Fitch’s values were popularity, exclusive and uniformity. So both groups have the same perception and positioning of Abercrombie & Fitch, even if they do not shop there. We wanted to know what features of Abercrombie & Fitch the non-shoppers and shoppers liked and disliked. The participants had a scale from strongly like to strongly dislike to choose from and a neutral option was also given. The non-shoppers slightly liked the quality of the products from Abercrombie & Fitch. Shoppers, on the other hand, strongly liked the quality products. Both the shoppers and the non-shoppers strongly disliked the price of the products from Abercrombie & Fitch. In our secondary research, we uncovered that the problem lied within Abercrombie & Fitch: that their values did not coincide with the values of the current target market group. In our secondary research, we found that the target market group believes in inclusiveness and diversity. In order to generalize this finding, we asked the participants to select what values they considered important. In order for this question not to be biased, we included some of the same values that were mentioned in the Abercrombie & Fitch question. Once again we saw the same trend, both the non-

shoppers and shoppers had the same top three values: accepting, diversity and inclusive. Clothing brands Abercrombie and Fitch shoppers selected Abercrombie and Fitch, Forever 21, and H&M (in decreasing order) as the stores that they currently buy clothes from, while the non-shoppers of Abercrombie selected Forever 21, H&M, and American Eagle (in decreasing order). In terms of the clothing store that survey-takers shop at the most, the mode for both groups was Forever 21 with 56 percent of Abercrombie and Fitch shoppers and 34 percent of Abercrombie and Fitch non-shoppers. When asked to choose the relevant descriptions for clothing brands (survey-takers were allowed to choose multiple answers), both Abercrombie and Fitch shoppers and non-shoppers chose the following adjectives most frequently for each particular brand: expensive for Abercrombie and Fitch, casual for both American Eagle and Gap, beachy for Hollister, and cheap for Forever 21 and H&M. We then asked participants to rank how much they agree or disagree with statements that had been inspired by our focus groups. When asked to pick the degree that they agree or disagree with the statement: “Abercrombie and Fitch is for skinny people”, the average for shoppers was 2.33 and the average for non-shoppers was 2.21, which puts both of their responses between agree and neither agree or disagree (the neutral response). When asked to do the same thing for the statement, “Abercrombie and Fitch is for ‘cool’ kids”, shoppers of Abercrombie and Fitch had a mean of 2.86, while the non-shoppers of Abercrombie and Fitch had a mean of 2.95, leaning heavily towards the neutral answer. For the statement “Abercrombie and Fitch is for attractive people”, shoppers of Abercrombie

and Fitch had a mean of 2.76, while non-shoppers had a mean of 3.00. Lastly, for the statement “Abercrombie and Fitch is for wealthy people”, shoppers of Abercrombie and Fitch had a mean of 2.8 and non-shoppers had a mean of 2.65, once again putting the answers between agree and neither agree nor disagree. While the results varied on most of these questions, the mode for “Abercrombie and Fitch is for skinny people” was agree for both shoppers and non-shoppers alike. Self-perception When the participants were asked to rate how much they agreed with the statement “My clothes represent who I am”, 84 percent of the Abercrombie and Fitch shoppers and 62 percent of the Abercrombie and Fitch non-shoppers selected from answers that ranged from strongly agree to agree. When asked to identify the clothing style(s) that best describe them, the mode for both shoppers and non-shoppers was “classic”. When asked if they considered themselves trendy, 56 percent of the shoppers and 60 percent of the non-shoppers answered yes. Out of magazines, TV/Movies, word of mouth, social media, and other, 64 percent of shoppers (Appendix 14) and 70 percent of non-shoppers (Appendix 15) said that they used social media to get information on current trends and fashion. When asked to rank in terms of importance the factors of clothing that they consider important, both shoppers and non-shoppers alike chose price, style, and fit to be the top three factors. However, shoppers ranked their choices in the following decreasing order: 1) fit, 2) price, and 3) style, while non-shoppers ranked their answers in a different decreasing order: 1) style, 2) price, and 3) fit. When asked how much they agree with the statement, “in every school, there are the cool and popular kids, and then, there are the not-so cool kids”, a

partial quote from former Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Michael Jeffries (which he gives as the basis for the brand’s exclusive image and positioning), 76 percent of the shoppers and 65 percent of the non-shoppers selected some degree of agree (either strongly agree or agree).

Research Conclusions In our secondary research, we uncovered various trends that affect Abercrombie & Fitch Co. We found that their target market group of 18 to 24 year old college students are valuing diversification, acceptance and inclusiveness than previous generations. Current Millennials emphasize individuality and their unique sense of style as well as social and environmental responsibility. This perception may have caused a change in consumers’ shopping attitudes. This affects Abercrombie & Fitch and initiated further qualitative research study. In our qualitative research, we conducted two separate focus groups; people who have shopped at A&F in the past six months and people who have not shopped there in the past six months, to perceive the differences of their opinions, attitudes and beliefs according to our informational needs. Each group was pre-screened, compensated and informed of the study and their right as voluntary participants. Our key findings discovered that shoppers tend to be trendier and shop based on needs and preferences, while non-shoppers are not as concerned with their style and value comfort and saving money. Both groups assessed that A&F’s exclusionary policies have driven away their target market group because their negative brand image portrayed in the media and the narrow selection of their products. In our quantitative research, we disseminated a survey that addresses our informational needs to gain insight from statistical responses on our target market group. Survey questions included a screening criteria that divided college students 18

to 24 into shoppers and non-shoppers by establishing logic questions. Our key findings determined that shoppers of A&F and non-shoppers value inclusiveness, quality and diversity, which parallel our qualitative research findings. Both groups utilize social media to follow trends, albeit through different influencers. Non-shoppers are concerned with a brand’s reputation, while shoppers are influenced by their social circles. Based on the amount of participants who have not shopped at A&F, our findings suggest that A&F is not popular among college students. Further findings indicate that A&F is more popular among consumers in middle school than in high school or college, which suggests that A&F’s current target market is shying away from an outdated brand image that prevails instead among younger consumers. Based on our primary and secondary findings, our A&F faces various challenges. Our qualitative research findings indicated that shoppers and nonshoppers have negative perceptions of A&F due to their exclusionary practices, and bad publicity/media coverage. We recommend using the influence of social media networks to create a positive image of A&F as well as new model casting that portrays college students with different ethnicities and sizes to substitute their traditional management system as well as their promotional posters and packaging. Another challenge we encountered in our findings specified the narrow selection of clothing that A&F offers. We recommend that A&F introduce a new line of plus size clothing as well as apparel made of versatile fabric to appeal to a wider demographic. High numbers of college students indicated an emphasis for affordable yet quality purchases. In order to recapture A&F’s target market, we recommend aligning consumer’s shopping attitudes

and personal values to that of A&F by emphasizing sale opportunities on their website and providing an efficient payment service.

As our advertising strategy, we suggest utilizing the social media platforms such as Twitter and Instagram, to launch our social repositioning campaign. By using hashtags, such as “#afdiversifies”, we can introduce an aspiring social movement to invite others to partake in the repositioning of Abercrombie & Fitch. The main function of the campaign is to welcome Millennials and relevant consumers to tweet about the changes A&F is implementing to diversify their management, their products and their promotional advertising. Such tweets could incorporate college involvement by generating posts and pictures with hashtags such as “afdiversifiesinUF”, which could garner awareness among the target market. For future positioning of Abercrombie & Fitch, it is important that they stress the social changes in the new marketing campaign. By repositioning A&F’s brand image as inclusive and accepting, brand awareness can increase among the target market and attract consumers. To female and male college students ages 18 to 24 who need an inclusive, stylish place to shop at. Abercrombie & Fitch is the brand of clothing retailers aimed at Millennials that promises comfortable clothings with a trendy and confident look. The reason why is because their selection of products gives you a wide selection of high quality apparel and accessories. The brand character is comfortable, trendy and approachable. The value-based payoff is confidence and versatility.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co's. (2015, May 22). Retrieved May 25, 2015. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Annual Report, 3-86. (2015) Abercrombie & Fitch Co. Marketline. (2015, February 12). Retrieved May 20, 2015. Abercrombie & Fitch scores tumble with Millennials. (2013, May 15). Retrieved May 25, 2015. Abercrombie & Fitch Changing Its Long Standing Strategies --Trefis. (2015, January 23). Retrieved May 20, 2015. Bentz, K. (2014, December 4). BYE FELICIA: Millennials And Why Teen Retail Tanked Abercrombie & Fitch Company (NYSE:ANF), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). Retrieved May 25, 2015. Berfield, S., & Rupp, L. (2015, January 22). The Aging of Abercrombie & Fitch. Bloomberg Businessweek, 46-46. Brown, A. (2013, August 22). Is Anyone Shopping At Abercrombie & Fitch? Apparently Not. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Davis, J. (2012). Advertising research: Theory and practice (2nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Prentice Hall. Dulaney, C. (2014, March 15). Abercrombie Sales Drop 14%, Warns of Tough Months Ahead. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Farfan, B. (n.d.). Abercrombie & Fitch Mission Statement - Mission, Brand Vision, Values, Headquarters, Founders Facts, and Trivia About The Abercrombie & Fitch Retail Stores Chain and Brand Management Mission. Retrieved May 25, 2015. Guenther, C., Brackley, A., Martini, L., & Bilgrami, R. (2014). SustainAbility's 10 trends for 2015. Retrieved May 24, 2015. Gustafson, K. (2014, March 4). This change may get teens back to Abercrombie: Pro. Retrieved May 25, 2015. Gutsche, J. (2014, December 4). Top 20 Trends in 2015 Forecast / 2015 Trend Report Â

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by Innovation Keynote Speaker Jeremy Gutsche. Retrieved May 25, 2015, from https://youtu.be/XeEgcS6LejM Honaman, J. (2015, January 5). Top 6 Retail Trends to Watch in 2015. Retrieved May 25, 2015. Kesteloo, M., & Hodson, N. (2015, April 4). 2015 Retail Trends. Retrieved May 25, 2015. Klara, R. (2014, November 2). The Rise and Fall of the World's Most Hated Clothing Brand. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Lutz, A. (2013, May 3). Abercrombie & Fitch Refuses To Make Clothes For Large Women. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Lutz, A. (2013, August 22). 13 Reasons Why People Hate Abercrombie & Fitch. Retrieved May 25, 2015, Marzilli, T. (2013, June 6). Abercrombie Impression With Young Adults Continues To Fall Following 'Cool Kid' Comments. Retrieved May 20, 2015. McDonough, K. (2013, May 16). Report: Millennials don’t like Abercrombie & Fitch. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Raynor, M., & Ahmed, M. (2013, June 3). Why Abercrombie & Fitch (Almost) Never Puts Anything On Sale. Retrieved May 25, 2015, Reuters. (2013, August 22). Teens not shopping at Abercrombie anymore. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Rupp, L. (2015, March 4). Abercrombie & Fitch Drops After Holiday Sales Tumble. Retrieved May 20, 2015. Shaer, M. (2014, February 9). Why Abercrombie Is Losing Its Shirt. Retrieved May 20, 2015. The Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands - 2014 (Interbrand ) | Ranking The Brands. (2014). Retrieved May 25, 2015. Trend & Opportunites. (2014). Retrieved May 25, 2015. US BRANDED RETAIL APPAREL INDUSTRY REPORT. (2012). 23-23. Vend - Point of sale you'll love to use. (2015). Retrieved May 25, 2015.

White, B., Flemming, P., & Thacher, T. (2007). Strategic Report for Abercrombie & Fitch Co., 2-26

Appendix 1 Key Ratios

Unit/Currency

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Gross Margin

62.56

62.44

61.33

63.93

64.32

Operating Margin

1.96

8.3

5.32

6.84

4.03

Net Profit Margin

1.33

5.25

3.46

4.49

0.01

Operating Costs (% of Sales)

98.04

91.7

94.68

93.16

95.97

Administration Costs (% of Sales)

58.04

54.41

53.48

55.79

59.62

Chart from ProQuest database – Abercrombie & Fitch Retailing Company Profile by Canadean Company Records 2014 Appendix 2

Market Standing Competitors

Abercrombie & Fitch

17%

83%

Graph is from CSIMarket.com. Created by amChart.com 2014

Appendix 3 Screener for Abercrombie and Fitch Research Study Focus Group Directions to Participant: Please answer the following questions(all answers will remain confidential): 1. Are you 18 to 24 years old? If yes, proceed to question 2. If no, discontinue. Thank you. 2.) Are you a college student? If yes, proceed to question 3. If no, discontinue. Thank you. 3.) Have you participated in a focus group in the last month? If yes, discontinue. Thank you. If no, proceed to question 4. 4.)Are you in Advertising Research 3500 with Amal Bakry this semester? If yes, discontinue. Thank you. If no, proceed to question 5. 5.)Are you familiar or have you heard of Abercrombie and Fitch? If yes, proceed to question 6. If no, discontinue. Thank you. 6.) Have you shopped at Abercrombie and Fitch in the last six months? Â

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If yes, proceed to Group A. If no, proceed to Group B

Appendix 4 Informed Consent Form Abercrombie & Fitch Research Study Please sign your name on the solid line if you agree with the statements below: I do hereby give permission to the members of squAD to record me participating in their focus group and allow them to view the recordings at a later time. I have been informed that the recordings are strictly for educational purposes and will not be shown to any individuals outside their classroom.

Signature:_____________________________________________ Date:_______ Appendix 5 Moderator Guide 1) Objectives/Informational Needs: The objectives of the focus group are to find out why Abercrombie and Fitch Co.’s target market group left and why their perception of Abercrombie and Fitch has changed. The informational needs include understanding the target market’s underlying attitudes and beliefs about branded clothing, Abercrombie and Fitch Co., the shopping experience, and their self-perceptions. 2) Moderator Guidelines: 1. Read the prepared questions before the focus group begins. 2. Welcome the participants to the focus group and thank them for participating in the focus group. 3. Introduce yourself. 4. Make sure that each participant meets the focus group’s requisites by making the participants fill out a screener.

5. Inform the participants of their autonomy (let them know that they may leave the focus group at any time). 6. Keep all body and verbal language neutral and unbiased. 7. Do not leave room for misinterpretation when asking impromptu questions. 8. Do not follow up on a participant's answer with “why?” rather seek to explore their attitude more in depth with a pointed question about one aspect their answer. 9. Be sure to allow all participants to discuss the topic equally. Should one  participant begin to dominate the discussion, make an effort to include other participants. 10. Make sure that each individual is comfortable throughout the discussion. 11. Avoid any cultural language or signs that could show bias or personal opinions.  Nodding your head and neutral agreements that show you understand are okay. 12. For the questions that involve the participants being shown a picture, make sure every participant gets a chance to see the photo. 13. Keep the group discussion to a one-hour time period. 3) Discussion Guide: Introduction: Hello and welcome everybody. My name is ____ and I will be your moderator today. I’d like to thank all of you for being here this evening. I know you are all busy, and we want you to know how much we appreciate your participation. The other members of our team squAD, ___, ___, ___, ___ and ___, will be helping me take notes and coordinate our discussion. This focus group is part of a project that we are doing for an advertising research class at the University of Florida. Purpose: We are conducting this research today in order to gain consumer insight on attitudes, beliefs and opinions toward branded clothing. All of you have been chosen to participate because you are all college students between the ages of 18 and 24 and have shopped/not shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in the past 6 months. Discussion Group Rules: For the next hour, I will be asking several open questions about brand clothing, A&F, attitudes about shopping and brand perception. Please feel free to express yourselves during the conversation. There are no right or wrong answers. You all have different points of view, and we are interested in hearing from each of you. All of your opinions are important to us. You don’t need to agree with

• • •

• •

Imagine you run into someone on campus, they are wearing branded clothing, for example the logo and brand name are visible, from head to toe. What is your first impression of this individual? (hypothetical) People who wear branded clothing are _______________. (sentence completion) What kind of advertisements have you seen from HM, Forever 21, American Eagle, The Gap? When you are shopping and you see clothing that has a clear brand recognition, for example you can clearly see the logo on the left of the chest in the corner. Does it stop you from buying that article of clothing? Does a brand’s marketing or advertising whether you shop there? If you had an unlimited budget, what brands of clothing would you buy?

Abercrombie & Fitch • Do you currently purchase clothes from A&F? o Why? • Do you purchase from other clothing stores? o Why? • What do you think young people think of A&F? o Why? • What do you think clothing brands such as A&F, The Gap, American Eagle, Forever 21 and H&M stand for? State the first word that comes to mind when each brand is mentioned. (word association) • What values do each of the following brands hold? o Why? o How important are these values for you? • If Abercrombie & Fitch were a celebrity: o Who would they be? (personification)

Where would they live? What type of car would they drive? • Can you describe and advertisement that you have seen from Abercrombie? • If you didn’t know what A&F stood for, what would you think the A&F stands for? • Differentiate brands (including A&F) by showing people examples of clothes. (picture sorts) o o

Attitudes about shopping • What physical characteristics or qualities about a store are important to you? (structural) • Since the only A&F store closed in Gainesville, would you be willing to buy their products online? • Can you list some pros & cons of online shopping? (specification) • Explain what makes a piece of clothing a “must have”. (structural) • According to a study by Rueters is said that millenials are spending more money on technology than on clothing. Do you think you spend more money on clothing or technology? o So if you were given $500 to buy an iPad or clothes which one would you go for? § Why? • When you see a clothing brand on the news about a controversial topic, does that impact if you shop at that store or not? Self-perception • Do you consider yourself trendy? o Probe: If so how do you keep up with trends or do you start them? (specification) • What media platforms do you use to keep up with fashion trends? • Do you think your style represents who you are? (specification) o How? • What is important to you when you choose a brand of clothing? o Why? (specification) • What clothing brand do you buy most? o Why? (specification) • Typical characteristics of a casual outfit includes a comfy top, jeans and sneakers for a weekend hangout (watching movies, shopping) with some friends. What is your ideal casual outfit? (idealization) • When you are watching an advertisement, what part of the advertisement captivates you? Is the informational content, what you see (so the visuals) or the sound? Is there a combination of both?

Appendix 6 Cognitive map for shoppers in focus group 1

Appendix 7 Cognitive map for non-shoppers focus group 2

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Appendix 8 Focus Group A: Shoppers Moderator: Um, hi hello! Welcome everybody, first off my name is Elena and I will be your moderator for today. Um, I also wanted to thank you all for coming today I know you all are busy and we just wanted to tell you how much we appreciate your participation. Um the other members of our team, squAD, Breena, Qihang, Alicia, Ana and Patricia will be helping me take notes and coordinate our discussion today. This focus group is part of a project that we are doing for an advertising research class at the University of Florida. We are conducting this research today to gain consumer insight on attitudes, beliefs, and opinions towards branded clothing. All of you have been chosen to participate because you are all college students between the ages of 18-24 and have shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch in the past six months. For the next hour I will be asking several open questions about branded clothing, Abercrombie & Fitch, attitudes about shopping and self-perception. Please feel free to express yourself during this conversation; there are no right or wrong answers. You all have different points of view, and we are all interested in hearing from you. All of your opinions are important to us. You don’t need to agree with others but you

must be respectful as others share their views. We also ask that you silence your phones at this time if you have not yet done so. Please note that everything that you share today will be kept confidential and private. We are only videotaping this session today to track of your comments for research purpose but no personal information will be disclosed. You are free to take calls if you absolutely need to and you may also leave at any time during the study. Before we start does anybody have any questions about this procedure? No? Uh well let’s begin! To break the ice let’s state all of our names, age and major and a food that you could eat for the rest of your life. Respondent 5: I’m Eva, I’m 19 years old, Advertising and oysters. Respondent 4: I’m Valeria, I’m 21 years old and Civil Engineering and Respondent 3: I’m Silvia, I’m 21 years old, I’m a Sociology major and I could eat chocolate for the rest of my life. Respondent 2: Hello, my name is Luisa, I’m 18 years old, and I am industrial engineering major, and I would eat pizza. Respondent 1: My name is Lili, and I’m 19 years old. I am digital arts and science major. I can’t live without; mm I would have to say, umm chicken. Moderator: All right! Awesome, thank you everyone for sharing. We want to evaluate your opinions umm about branding clothing market. Everyone can feel free to jump it, you don’t need resaid. All right, imagine you are around of someone on campus with brand clothing for example the logo and branded principles. What is your first impression of this individual? *** Few seconds of silent… Respondent 1: Did you say know brands like mm? Moderator: All brand of clothing from end to tone Respondent 3: personally brand, it is kind of show off. Not, just kidding. It depends of the brand I would make a comment about a person. Moderator: mm, if it were a particularly expensive brand, what would you think about this person? Moderator 1: I think they are trying hard to show how much money they have based on the clothing they wear. Respondent 1: I was about to say the money too. Respondent 2: I think if they money they show off Moderator: mm ok and, what if these logos happens to be something minister and something if it is to show off, what do you think about that person? Respondent 3: I wouldn’t say anything in particular, it is not their fault, and they just

put the logo on the clothes. Moderator: Okay so, for this question I am going to begin a sentence, and I appreciate it if you guys can fill in the blank at the end. Moderator: People who wear brand clothing are… blank Few seconds and respondents try to think about this answer… Respondent 5: mm are normal people (laugh) Respondent 3: I agree (laugh) Moderator: okay Respondent 3: Yeah normal (laugh) *** In this part, everybody was kind of laughing… Moderator: Does anyone have a different opinion? Okay… all right. For the next section I am going to ask you about Abercrombie and Fitch feel free if you want a jump it again. Do you currently purchase clothes from Abercrombie and Fitch? Respondent 3: Yes Respondent 1,4,5: Yes (with a movement face). Moderator: ok all right, since you said yes, can I ask you why you currently purchase it? Respondent 1: Mostly, I buy jeans or pants Respondent 2: Yes, mostly jeans (movement face) Respondent 3: Yes, jeans Respondent 4 and 5: yes Respondent 5: I used to work there, I was curious what they were selling and if I see something cute, I just bought it and of course on sale. *** Everyone laughs! Respondent 1: yeah, if it was on sale I bought it Respondent 3: if you find something cute in the store while I am doing windowshopping, and you go and if you have the money, I buy it. *** Silent Moderator: Okay mm… do you purchase from other clothing store? Respondent 1: yes Respondent 2,3,4 and 5: yeah (face’s movement) Moderator: Can I ask you, what kind of store you purchased it? Respondent 5: American apparel, Hollister, forever 21 Respondent 4: H&M Respondent 2: Yeah forever 21, (laugh) H&M Respondent 3: American eagle Respondent 1: Hollister *** Every body wanted to give an opinion at the same time Moderator: Can I ask you why this ones? Respondent 1: why? Moderator: why this store outfits? Respondent 2: Well, prices are affordable

Respondent 4: yeah Respondent 3: Like I said before, if I see something cute while walking in the mall, and if I see something cute, I will just go and buy it. But no for oh forever 21, or oh is H&M (face’s expressions). Moderator: ok, so my next question is what do you think millennial people think about Abercrombie and Fitch? *** Silent, every one tried to think about the answer Respondent 5: personally, I believe that it seems like being preppy, higher end but no like there the cost and everything. Mmm yeah… Moderator: is anyone has to added? Respondent 1: Can you repeat the question? Moderator: Oh sure! What do you think millennial aged from 18 to 24 think of Abercrombie and Fitch? Respondent 1: Expensive Respondent 2: not for them Respondent 3: the same of all of you, I don’t have a different one Moderator: Mm… since you said that it is not for them; can I ask you evaluate that? Respondent 2: because the clothes that they sell is not for old people like they have/multiple on trend, jeans, different style Respondent 3: like she said a very preppy style and not every body fit on these clothes Moderator: Ok… mm… in the next one I am going to list a clothing brands, so this time just state the word that comes to mind when I mention each brand. Mm… so lets just go around the room (Movement with the hand). Let’s see, so A&F (Abercrombie and Fitch) Respondent 5: Mm… preppy (laugh) Respondent 4: Emm mm stylish or preppy yeah Respondent 3: expensive Respondent 2: expensive too Respondent 1: preppy *** Every body laughs in silent Moderator: ah, the gap Respondent 5: mm, I would say like every day clothing Respondent 4: casual Respondent 3: mainstream Respondent 2: classic Respondent 1: normal Moderator: Mm… American eagle Respondent 5: beach Respondent 4: Like mm.. Teen maybe for teens Respondent 3: Amazing… mm I don’t know Respondent 2: Casual Respondent 1: Casual (laugh) Moderator: Oh okay, forever 21

Respondent 1: cheap *** Every body laughs Respondent 4: Formal Respondent 3: Cheap Respondent 2: trendy Respondent 1: Variety Moderator: Variety? Respondent 1: (Moved the face saying yes) Moderator: alright… and the last one is H&M Respondent 5: Stylish Respondent 4: good Respondent 3: Nice Respondent 2: Classy Respondent 1: casual Moderator: all right… what values do you do you each following brand that I mentioned before? So, A&F, Gap, American eagle, forever 21 and H&M. what values do you think each brand have? Respondent 2: what do you mean by values? Moderator: mm… well by values means what do they communicate to you as a brand? Respondent 5: I think it is different by each brand, which brand? Moderator: ok, so, mm… A&F Respondent 5: I guess the value make every one kind a look the same Respondent 4: I think they have a stereotype Respondent 5: yeah for trendy guys or like that Well, I will make a general for all of the stores; it is making their customer happy, and having a number of everything for everyone to satisfy. At least, I don’t feel myself as a preppy, but I shopped in Abercrombie and Fitch and in other, and they have variety for every one so people would go Respondent 5: yeah like forever 21, for men and girls or boyfriend’s clothes, mm… I don’t know what more of section Moderator: and then about American eagle, gap, H&M, what they communicate? Respondent 3: I shopped on every of this store, and they have something that I like either a pants, jeans, shirt, clothes in general. If I go to the store for sure I will find something that I like. They just tried to satisfy the customer by the variety for all people. Respondent 5: I think that they also are in the middle; they often have a lot of statements or options like for going out or every day or business casual clothing. Forever 21 have a business casual, but A&F doesn’t has like business casual. Moderator: does anyone have something else or opinions? *** Silent Moderator: All right… mmm… so if Abercrombie and Fitch brought a celebrity who it would be? Respondent 3: Justin Bieber, teen, or guy that think that he is more that he is, this is what I personally believe.

*** Every body laughs Respondent 5: Disney channel stars for sure Respondent 1: Yeah, I think I am agree Respondent 2: Yeah, the same Moderator: Ok, so based on your answers, where the celebrities live based on your interpretation? *** All the respondents said California, and they laughed about this. Moderator: can I ask you to evaluate that? Respondent 5: when you enter to the store you realized that they have the theme as a California like Hollister, and it shows Southern California I think. Respondent 3: I agree Moderator: mmm… So what type of car this celebrities drive? Respondent 5: an Audi Respondent 3: yeah I don’t know *** All respondents were laughing Respondent 4: A Mercedes Respondent 2: Basically, a nice car Moderator: Great! So I am going to ask my assistant Alicia to placed several pictures for you… mmm… I would like you all to state which brand each outfit looks like. So first we are going to start off with the females. *** The assistant were placing the pictures Respondent 1: What do we have to do? Match? Moderator: mm yes... Based on the pictures match what brand match with the pictures *** They were adjusted in groups to match the pictures, and they started to figure out which picture match with each brand. Respondent 1 and 2 were together, and then respondent 3, 4, and 5 were together in the other side of the table. Moderator: I want also let you know that f for female and m for male. *** All respondents answer oh okay, and they were working together. Respondent 5: is there another one? Moderator: Yes, should be a Hollister sleeve as well so I apologize. *** And every body readjusted what they thought before *** The assistant gave them another picture to figure out while they were working in the other ones. Moderator: All right… is everyone ready? *** All respondents said yes Moderator: Ok, so starting from Hollister, what picture represent? Respondent 3, 2, and 1: (show the picture) and we think about shorts Respondent 5 and 4: same (they show the same picture) Moderator: ok, mmm… and forever 21 Respondent 3, 2, and 1: (they show the picture and they laugh because the other group got the same picture representation) Respondent 5 and 4: (when they show the photo, they realized that they have the

same one as the other group) Moderator: Abercrombie and Fitch Both groups showed the pictures and they were the same Moderator: American eagle Both groups showed the pictures and they were the same Moderator: all of you got the same (laugh). And… gap Both groups showed the pictures and they were the same Moderator: All right… mmm… so now we are going to give you the male pictures (Groups worked together on projective photo technique) Moderator: Alright, is everyone good to go? (All respondents said yes) Moderator: So for Hollister? All respondents: I’m curious. Respondent 5: Will we know the right answers? Moderator: Well, the… All respondents: After? Moderator: For the purpose of this discussion, we will let everyone know after. (All respondents agreed and held photos) Moderator: Forever 21? (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: Abercrombie & Fitch? (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: American Eagle? (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: And The Gap? (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: And now, can I ask you guys why you chose the outfit, the picture, to the brand that you believe that it relates with? Respondent 5: Gap was really trendy, and like, it’s kind of like modern-y but cute you know? So there you go. Respondent 2: For Abercrombie and Hollister, they always have that grey background. Respondent 5: Oh yea… Respondent 1: And for Hollister because of the sandals, the light, and the t-shirt. Respondent 5: Yea, their graphic tees always look like this (pointed to the photo), and he has a flannel, and they always have flannels in Hollister. Respondent 2: And they put shoes on it Respondent 3: I thought it was too casual to be like Hollister, so we put it in Forever 21. Respondent 2: Abercrombie is like more fancy. Respondent 3: In general, I think I’ve seen so much advertising for the stores that already have the idea, you see on the models or on tv and the posters. I kind of have the idea.

Respondent 1: Since we are women, we know we match all of them from the women and the men, we have so many differences. Moderator: Alright, so does anyone have a different opinion on the perception between specifically men and women. Um because it seems for women, you guys had the same answers. (All respondents agreed) Moderator: But for men, it’s completely different, so based on the gender perception, do you guys see a difference in clothing? Respondent 3: I think we as women, we worry more, like you can look at all the stores but I know which ones I like or how they work from different stores so I know how different they are in each store. So for me because I have shopped at every other store, I know what fits me in each store but for a guy, I’ve never shopped for a guy. Respondent 1: We shop for us, not guys Moderator: Alright before we continue, could you guys write your answers on the back of those pictures? Moderator: Thank you. So this next category will evaluate your attitudes about shopping. What physical characteristics or qualities about a store are important to you? Respondent 3: The music that is playing in the store. Respondent 1: If it’s organized. Respondent 2: For me, it’s the customer service. Respondent 5: Yea, I don’t want to have to look for someone; I want them to be there, but I also don’t want them bothering me. Respondent 1: That’s true. Respondent 5: It has to be well lit, so I can see. Organized, not too crowded with a bunch of stuff. (All respondents agreed) Respondent 1: Not like Forever 21, too crowded Everybody: Because of sales Respondent 2: Easy to see Respondent 5: Lines have to be short Moderator: Since the only A&F store closed in Gainesville, would you be willing to buy their products online? Most respondents: Yea Respondent 5: No, because I’d like to see it in person, because I’m not familiar with them 100%, so I don’t know how it’s going to fit. Respondent 3: In my case, it’s mostly pants, and I’ve bought pants there before so I already know my size and everything. Moderator: Can you guys list some pros and cons of online shopping? Respondent 5: You can’t try it on. Sometimes the quality is lesser, I feel. Like Forever 21, if you buy online its not as nice as it is on the stores sometimes. Respondent 3: Takes time to get it. Respondent 1: Sometimes it looks better online then when you get it. Respondent 5: Pro is there is more stuff to buy from.

Respondent 4: Yeah. Respondent 3: You have to go to the mall, there may be lines. Respondent 2: You don’t have to walk. Respondent 1: you can look up online t-shirts, shorts, pants Respondent 5: Also you can compare it to other sites to see if they have similar stuff and it is cheaper over there or if you like it more over there. Moderator: Okay. Explain what makes a piece of clothing a “must have”, as in qualities. Respondent 3: To feel comfortable in it. Respondent 2: Good quality. Respondent 5: Good quality, looks good on me. Respondent 2: Fits good. Respondent 1: It matches a lot of things. Respondent 3: Pricing Respondent 5: It’s something I don’t already have. Moderator: So this last category will be about self-perceptions. So first question, do you consider yourself trendy? Respondent 4:Yeah Respondent 5:Yes Respondent 3:Yes (laughs) Moderator: If so, for those of you that said yes, how do you keep up with trends? Or do you start them? Trendsetter or trend follower? Respondent 5: I don’t know, I just kind of scroll through social media and if I see something cool, I’m like oh I’ll try that and if it looks good on me then I’ll start doing it and wearing it. Moderator: What media platforms do you use to keep up with trends? Respondent 2: Instagram Respondent 5: Instagram Respondent 4: Instagram Respondent 5: Facebook sometimes. Respondent 3: Pinterest Respondent 1: Yeah, Pinterest. Moderator: Based on those media platforms, what benefits do you think motivates you to make them be trendy? Respondent 4: If I look good in them. Respondent 5: Do you mean like on Instagram you can see all the pictures so it’s easy to scroll through. Is that what you are asking? Moderator: Yes, so between the media platforms that you just mentioned and based on how structured they are, what makes it easy for you to see the outfits that inspire you? Respondent 5: On Instagram, you can scroll through and follow magazines and celebrities who you think dress nice. Respondent 3: Even stores you can follow. Respondent 1: Yeah!

Respondent 5: Yeah, even coupons sometimes. They tell you about sales. Pinterest you can be like oh I really want green pants and then you can find other outfits or shirts to go with it. You can buy a whole outfit based on that. That’s just what I do. Moderator: All right, do you think that your style represents who you are? Respondent 3: (nods) Yes. Respondent 5: No, cause today I thought that this outfit was cute and then throughout the day, I realized that I hate it. But most of the time yes Respondent 4: Most of the time. Respondent 2: I would say most of the time too Respondent 1: Yeah. Moderator: To evaluate that, how do you think your style represents who you are? Respondent 1: I mean, if you are wearing something it is because you like it and if you like it, it represent who you are or how you look. Respondent 4: If you feel comfortable Respondent 5: Yeah like if you wear flashy clothing then maybe you are a flashy person and very lively. Maybe if you wear a plain white t-shirt and jeans, you are more reserved. Respondent 3: Color affects too. Like bright colors means oh I’m happy. Respondent 5: Or some people shop at certain store if it like, they don’t shop at American Apparel cause of the lawsuit against the CEO and stuff like that. Moderator: What is important to you when you choose a brand of clothing? Respondent 5: Quality Respondent 4: Price Respondent 5: Price, style. Sometimes name, like brand name Respondent 3: Variety Moderator: is there anything else you’d like to add? What is important to you when you choose a store? Based on the history of brands? Respondent 5: If it is cute I can justify it usually. Is that what you are asking? Like some people don’t shop at urban outfitters because they steal artwork from other artists and don’t give them credit, but it’s cute so I’ll still shop there. Moderator: What clothing brand do you buy the most? Respondent 5: American Apparel Respondent 4: Forever 21 Respondent 3: Forever 21 Respondent 2: H&M Respondent 1: H&M, Forever 21. Moderator: Can I ask you guys why you chose your answers? Respondent 5: Oh, can I change my answer? ASOS. It’s online. Respondent 3: Forever 21 is like super close to my house and has like a wide variety. Respondent 4: It’s like the only one in the mall I can go to. Respondent 3: And it’s cheap and you can find cute clothes. Respondent 5: The uniqueness of it, for me. If it is unique looking, I’ll get it.

Moderator: So typical characteristics of a casual outfit include jeans, sneakers, for a weekend hangout with your friends. It can be shopping, going to watch a movie, going on a picnic. What is your ideal casual outfit? Respondent 5: Mine is a white - I always wear this outfit cause I think it looks decent it’s a white crop top that is cotton, and tight skirt that is also cotton and its longer but it has a slit on the side so its easy to (mimes jogging). You can sit anyway you want. And with converses. Respondent 4: Jeans, shirt, and sandals. Maybe sneakers. Respondent 3: I’d say jeans and-it depends on where I’m going-change into a t-shirt and also, flip flops or sneakers. Respondent 2: Depends on the season too. Summer: shorts, cute t-shirt. In winter, jeans and a long sleeve top. Moderator: What may be your ideal causal outfit for a night out with you friends? Respondent 5: Some heels. Respondent 3: Heels! Respondent 5: Black dress Respondent 3: Little black dress Respondent 5: Yeah, little black dress. And a jacket you can carry with you if it gets cold Respondent 1: And a necklace Respondent 3: It depends on the season in this case yes cause you go in a short dress with no sleeves but in winter, long dresses or skirts or jumpers with a necklace. Moderator: Compared to what you think was cool when you were younger, perhaps in high school, how has it changed compared to how you dress now? Respondent 3: I don’t care before. Cause my school used uniforms and then I’d stay in my house all day or wear jeans. Now when I go to school, I decide what to wear. Sometimes I literally don’t care-not PJs but same shirt as I slept in with jeans and I come to class. But now I care more. To look decent at least. Respondent 5: I care less. Before, I was trying to figure out my style and I would go to a bunch of stores and I would try too hard. Everything would be matching perfectly. And now, I just reuse the outfits a lot. Respondent 2: I used to go to the same school as her, so we wore school uniforms. Respondent 4: Me too. Moderator: Can I ask you guys if you hadn’t wore uniforms, just going out in middle or high school, would that have changed your style? Respondent 3: It would definitely be different cause like in middle or high school, you are trying to fit in. like are you going to be popular and make friends? So of course you need to look good, but in our case, like we all looked the seam (laughs). Like you are going to like me for what I’m wearing. I think if I studied here Respondent 4: I would try to fit in Respondent 3: Yeah, try to fit in. Respondent 2: Like find your own style. Moderator: Now, in college, what would be one thing that you would say that changed drastically when describing yourself and what you wear?

Respondent 5: Comfiness. Cause I used to wear things that are uncomfortable just because they are cute and now they have to be comfortable or I am not going to wear it. Respondent 3: I don’t have a specific word but every time I try to have an accessory. So maybe I’m wearing a black t-shirt and jeans, but ill have like a necklace or something in my hair so it doesn’t look so casual. Respondent 5: I wear less jewelry. Respondent 3: That’s true. Respondent 4: Less makeup too Respondent 3: In high school, we wore these like humongous hoops (laughs). It was horrible. Respondent 5: Or I’d spend an hour trying to do my hair and now, I’m like oh I brushed it today (claps). Moderator: Can I ask you guys why this change? Respondent 5: Cause I feel like when you are older you are more comfortable with yourself so you don’t care what other people think of you. Respondent 1: Not enough time. Moderator: So do you think that this perception of what you just told me inspires you or limits you on how you do things currently in college? Respondent 5: You mean the change? Moderator: Yes, the changes that you have experienced because you are in college now. Do you think that this affects, motivates, inspires you on what you do now? Respondent 5: Wait? The focus group inspires me to change? Moderator: Oh no. This change of preference. Like not having enough time, you don’t wear as much makeup, people don’t care as much anymore. Respondent 5: Yeah I feel like I am more comfortable with myself and that I don’t have enough time definitely is important when I’m deciding on outfits or how long it takes me to get ready. Moderator: Any other opinions? All right. I’d like to ask my team now if they have any questions that they want to ask. Breena: Yeah, I do. Can you guys describe an advertisement you’ve seen for A & F? Respondent 3: Shirtless guys Respondent 2: The bags Respondent 5: Yeah! One of my bags had a guy just holding his pants and holding His private parts. He wasn’t even wearing them. Breena: What about Forever 21? Respondent 3: Girls having fun. Respondent 5: Girls having fun. Going to the beach. Respondent 3: Kind of like -ah -eh- happy Respondent 5: I saw one where there was a guy sitting on top of his car in a cool shirt Breena: From Forever 21 Respondent 5: Yeah from Forever 21. That’s all I remember. Breena: What about The Gap? Respondent 4: I don’t know.

Respondent 5: I remember the really old ones from the magazines where it had a statement like my Christmas gift and then it had a line and the celebrity would fill it in. and the celebrity would be wearing gap clothes. If that makes sense. Right? Respondent 3: Like very family oriented. Put the kid in the jeans. Breena: H&M. Same question? Respondent 5: David Beckham (nods and does a thumbs up). Wait are they commercials or any advertisement? Breena: Any advertisement. It could be print or social media… Respondent 5: Oh they also did a line for Coachella, which was cool cause it was like kids hanging out. But no music, it was just them, laughing in the desert. Alicia: I have a question. Others have said they would shop online. Is shipping a factor you would consider? Respondent 2: In this case, if Abercrombie is not in the mall anymore, then I don’t care. Respondent 5: If it’s free shipping, then yes, if it’s not free shipping then it’s not for me. Respondent 3: I’m not paying average shipping, then I’m not going to go like crazy. Respondent 1: I’ll wait for a cheaper option. Patricia: What is a product or item you look for when you go in an Abercrombie & Fitch store? (All respondents says jeans) Respondent 3: Bathing suits Respondent 2: Leggings Patricia: Is there another thing that you look for? Respondent 5: Sometimes they have nice beachy dresses, but they’re kind of expensive. Breena: Does the brand’s marketing or advertising affect whether you shop there? Respondent 5: For me, yes. Respondent 4: For me, no. Breena: For you no? Why? Respondent 4: I don’t know. I don’t really like pay attention to that. I’ll just find something, and I’ll buy it. Respondent 5: I went into H&M because I saw their campaign for Coachella. Respondent 3: It depends, if there’s something I’m looking for, say I’m looking for a specific item, I’ll open several tabs in my browser and I’m like, okay, let’s start. Forever 21, H&M, etc. and I’ll start looking for it but at least like what she (Respondent 5) said, if I see something specific on tv, I’ll look for it but in general I’d go through all of them. Respondent 1: I’d go find the one that is cheaper. Alicia: Okay, so according to Reuters, which is a study, they said that Millennials are spending more money on technology than on clothing, do you think you fit that mold, do you find yourselves spending more money on the latest technology, or are you spending your money more on clothing? Respondent 5: Yea clothing for me, I mean I bought my laptop, that’s like the last piece of technology I bought.

Respondent 4: Yea I just bought my phone and that’s it. Respondent 2: Yea, clothing Respondent 1: Yea, I already have my computer and my phone. Respondent 3: I pick clothing. If you gave me $500 and tell me to go buy an iPad or spend money on clothes, I’d definitely buy an iPad. Respondent 5: No, I would spend it on clothes. Respondent 3: No, I’m just saying, if you give me a little money to go buy something that I know it’s going to last a long time and I know clothes are very useful but I’d rather have something that will last longer, that will have better quality and that you’re going to use it. It’s not going to make you uncomfortable, so I’d definitely use it, if I had the money. Respondent 5: I think I would buy nicer, more expensive clothes. Breena: Where would you shop at if you had an unlimited budget? Respondent 5: Chanel, Dior, Dolce and Gabbana, Marc Jacobs, Christian Louboutin. Breena: Anyone else? Any dream brands that you shop at? Respondent 4: That’s about it. Respondent 3: When I start making more money, I’ll start making a list of stuff that I can afford. Moderator: I actually have a question, it took me a while to construct it, so if you an advertisement, any type of advertisement, and then it captivates you, what do you think in that advertisement captivates you? The informational benefits that they say or something that makes you feel something, from inside, makes you feel a type of emotion? Respondent 5: If it looks beautiful, usually I’m like wow, it looks so beautiful. I like that more than like “5 out of 10…” Respondent 3: I go by what I see and what I hear. Respondent 5: Yea, for print advertisements. For commercials, I’m more connected to it than learning… Respondent 4: You pay more attention to it. Breena: If you didn’t know that A&F stood for Abercrombie & Fitch, based on the brand, what do you think the A and the F stood for? Respondent 4: American Fashion Breena: You say American, do you think A&F is a patriotic brand? Respondent 4: Kind of. Respondent 5: I think of the U.S. My friends who study abroad, or friends who come visit me from other countries, they’re like, “Oh I want to go to Abercrombie & Fitch”, but you can get this hoodie anywhere else and they’re like, “No it has to be Abercrombie & Fitch”. So it’s like an American thing. Breena: Do they not have A&F where they’re from? Respondent 5: My friend, she’s from France, they only have one in Paris and she doesn’t live there. Respondent 5: In Mexico, they have one in the capital, I think that’s it. Alicia: When you’re shopping and you see clothing, you know at Hollister or Abercrombie, they always have the logo either on the left hand side or at the corner,

does that factor in like when you shop, and you think, “oh it shows the logo, I won’t buy it”? Respondent 4: Yea I don’t like logos. Respondent 3: Yea, I don’t like the logos. Respondent 2: Yea, me neither. Breena: You don’t like the little logos, or you don’t like any logos like at all? Respondent 3: I don’t like the humongous logos. If you can see it tiny, I don’t care but if you can see if from here to there, then I care. Moderator: Alright, well I just want to thank everyone for coming today. All of you provided some really great comments and we appreciate this, especially for the research. Before we end this focus group, does anybody have anything to contribute, any ideas or more questions? Respondent 3: I kind of want to go shopping now. Moderator: Alright, thank you again. Have a great day guys.

Appendix 9 Focus Group B: Non-shoppers Moderator: Hello and welcome everybody. My name is Alicia and I will be your moderator today. I know you are all busy, and we want you to know how much we appreciate your participation. The other members of our team squad, Breena, Patricia (who is not here), Ana and Qihang will be helping me take notes and coordinate our discussion. I’d like to thank all of you for being here this evening. This focus group is part of a project that we are doing for an advertising research class at the University of Florida. We are conducting this research today in order to gain consumer insight on attitudes, beliefs and opinions toward branded clothing. All of you have been chosen to participate because you are all college students between the ages of 18 and 24 and have shopped/not shopped at Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in the past 6 months. For the next hour, I will be asking several open questions about brand clothing and personal style. Please feel free to express yourselves during the conversation. There are no right or wrong answers. You all have different points of view and we are interested in hearing from each of you. All of your opinions are important to us. You don’t need to agree with

others, but you must be respectful as others share their views. We also ask that you silence your phones at this time, if you have not yet done so. Please note that everything that is shared today will be kept confidential and private. We are only videotaping the session today to track your comments for research purposes, but no personal information will be disclosed. You are free to take calls if you absolutely have to, and also you may leave at any time during the study. Well then, let’s begin! To break the ice, let’s all state our names, age, major, and a food that you could eat for the rest of your life. Respondent 1: I am Isidoro, I am 19, my favorite food is beans. Moderator: And your major? Respondent 1: Aerospace Respondent 2: Anna, I’m 20, I’m an anthropology major and I would eat sweet potatoes Respondent 3: I’m Sabrina, I’m a telecom – productions major, I’m 20 years old and it would be ice cream for me Respondent 4: I’m Greg, I’m 19 years old, I’m an economics major and lasagna Respondent 5: I’m Maggie, I’m 20, I’m a telecom major and pizza Respondent 6: Uh, I’m Robert, I’m 21 and I’m an Information Systems major and I’d say meatballs Moderator: Alright, thank you for sharing. Um, we are now going to evaluate your opinions on the branded clothing market. Everybody can feel free to jump in and you don’t have to raise your hands. Okay. Imagine you run into someone on campus, they are wearing branded clothing, for example the logo and brand name are visible, from head to toe. What is your first impression of this individual? Respondent 2: They shop there. Respondent 3: I don’t even think I would consider it honestly. Respondent 2: Yeah, unless it’s like Ed Hardy Respondent 4: Yeah haha Respondent 6: Depend on the brand. If it’s like what if it is like Gucci or something? I wouldn’t be able to recognize it. If it was something I could recognize it, then I’d be like wow they have a lot of money. But if it is like Hollister or Abercrombie I wouldn’t think much of it. Moderator: How about you guys? Respondent 2: Like he said, it depends on the brand. Moderator: For this question, I’m going to begin a sentence and I’d appreciate it if you guys can fill in the blank at the end. People who wear branded clothing are _______________. Respondent 4: Normal Respondent 3: Consumers Respondent 2: Mall-shoppers Moderator: All right we will move on to the next one

Moderator: What kind of advertisements have you seen from American Eagle, The Gap, Forever 21, H&M? All respondents: None Moderator: It doesn’t just have to be television. It can be several kinds of advertisements. Print, um mobile, on tv. Respondent 3: I’ve seen mobile ads for H&M but it’s like sponsored on my phone. Moderator: When you’re shopping and you see clothing that has clear brand recognition, for example, you can clearly the logo on the left side of the chest or on the bottom right hand corner. Does it stop you from buying that article of clothing? Respondent 1: No Respondent 6: I don’t mind if it’s in the bottom right corner. For some reason I don’t like it in the top. I guess I like plain clothes, obviously plain black tee. I don’t know. I don’t like wearing brands. Moderator: Does a brand’s marketing or advertising affect whether you shop there? Respondent 4: Yes Moderator: Why? Respondent 4: Um, maybe it does to like a level subconsciously. But I don’t think I am actively going to shop somewhere because I saw an advertisement like if I see an ad I’m not like wow I’m definitely going to shop there. Maybe it’ll like in the back of my mind and I’ll see and I’ll be oh ok let’s look in there. It’s not like actively going you know because of the advertisement. Respondent 3: I won’t go to places where I don’t like their advertisements but that’s just me. Moderator: And do you guys have anything? Respondent 2: Yeah I mean I don’t have examples but maybe I’d purposely not go there. I do that a lot with Nike. Like UF and Nike. I have Nike but I won’t buy it. Moderator: Alright, um. If you had an unlimited budget, what brands of clothing would you buy? Respondent 3: Definitely not Abercrombie & Fitch. Moderator: Could you list brands though? Respondent 3: Chanel, Dolce & Gabbana, I don’t know haha Respondent 6: I’d just pick what I like. Respondent 3: Yeah, what I would really want. Respondent 6: I’m going to walk into every store, it doesn’t matter if it is from the nicest store. I’d go into Target. Respondent 3: I wouldn’t go straight to the clearance rack. Respondent 6: I probably wouldn’t try and save money. So if like I see a $1000 shirt I like I’d buy it. But like if I see a $10 shirt that I like, I’m still going to buy it. All based on if I like it. Moderator: How about you guys? Respondent 1: I wouldn’t care about the brands, I would just buy what I like. If it’s my taste then I would buy it. Moderator: So what you’re saying is that price wouldn’t be a factor with an unlimited budget?

Moderator: So for this next section I’m going to ask you guys about Abercrombie & Fitch and again everybody is free to jump in. Moderator: Do you currently purchase clothes from Abercrombie & Fitch? All respondents: No Moderator: Why? Respondent 5: It smells bad. Respondent 4: That’s true. Respondent 3: Yeah it has a very distinct smell. Respondent 5: I can’t walk into that store it gives me a headache. Respondent 4: And I confuse them all like Hollister, American Eagle, Abercrombie & Fitch. I don’t know which one smells horrible with the cologne or if they all do. I just stay away. Moderator: And you guys? Respondent 2: I mean I never went in because I hear the jokes about how dark it is and it smells bad. So I’m just not going to go there. So I’ve never gone in. Respondent 1: I’ve been in there but I tend to avoid it. Moderator: Have you purchased from any other clothing stores? All respondents: Yeah Moderator: Why? So what stores did you purchase from? Why do you shop there? Respondent 3: American Eagle. I like a lot because their jeans are really good quality. Respondent 5: Yeah Respondent 3: I don’t know I just always seem to find a good fit there for like my body type. Where as if I go to Abercrombie & Fitch I think it’s made for like really skinny girls with no curves basically. Moderator: Any other stores you like to shop at? Respondent 4: I like Express Respondent 5: Me too. Respondent 3: Yeah Respondent 4: I find the clothing to be good quality. Pretty decent prices if you shop with the coupons they give. Respondent 6: H&M Respondent 4: Yeah H&M. Respondent 6: I feel like that what right now everyone tells me. My mom she is like oh H&M so I will go in there and that is where I end up shopping. I listen to other people like what is the popular store right now? Moderator: What do you think Millennials, so 18-24, think of Abercrombie & Fitch? Respondent 5: Dying out. Respondent 6: Yeah I think they reached their like, first I don’t think they are as popular. So I think that’s the problem. Movies for a while like portrayed Abercrombie & Fitch like the jerk, the really wealthy kid, like you know who was like a jerk. You know put them in a collared shirt and nice clothes and it end up hurting the brand. Respondent 3: A popped collar Moderator: Um, I’m going to list some clothing brands, so at this time please state the first word that comes to mind when each brand is mentioned.

Moderator: The Gap Respondent 6: Jeans (Respondent 4 shakes head in agreement) Respondent 3: Yeah, denim. Moderator: American Eagle Respondent 3: Birds Respondent 5: I was just going to say that! Moderator: Um, Forever 21 Respondent 2: Low-quality. Moderator: So you said low-quality and you said sunglasses? Respondent 3: Sunglasses, yeah. Moderator: And you said what? Respondent 5: YOLO. Forever 21 is very florescent to me. Respondent 6: All women’s clothing Moderator: All women’s? Respondent 3: Yeah Moderator: Um, H&M. Respondent 3: European Respondent 6: Nice. Respondent 5: Trends Respondent 2: I’ve never been in there. Moderator: And Abercrombie & Fitch. Moderator: What is the first word that comes to mind? Moderator: What did you say? Respondent 6: Polo. Respondent 3: Over priced. Respondent 2: Perfume Respondent 1: Dark Respondent 4: For Abercrombie? Moderator: Yes Respondent 4: High school Moderator: Um, what values do um, each of the following brands hold? So, for example, what do you think each brand communicates? Um, for example Abercrombie & Fitch communicates “sexy”, “all-American”, preppy. What would you think The Gap communicates to its consumers? Respondent 6: Standard Respondent 3: Yeah, very like minimal. Respondent 2: Yeah Respondent 6: T-shirt and a like a pair of jeans. Moderator: Um, American Eagle. Respondent 3: “Free-spirit” they have like festival clothes Respondent 5: Trendy Moderator: Um, Forever 21 Respondent 2: “Modern”

Respondent 3: Yeah hipster, wanna-be. Moderator: And um, H&M. Respondent 2: Cool Respondent 3: Cool Respondent 6: European Moderator: And how important is that to you? Being trendy, being cool. Respondent 5: It’s nice to look nice. Moderator: Hipster? Respondent 4: I don’t like the word hipster. Moderator: And why would you say that? Respondent 4: I just don’t like the look. I associate it with annoying. Moderator: If Abercrombie & Fitch were a celebrity, who would they be? Respondent 3: Justin Bieber. Moderator: Anyone else? Justin Bieber? All: Yeah Respondent 3: The annoying teenager (laughs) I don’t know. Moderator: Um, where would they live? Respondent 3: Malibu Respondent 6: California (The rest of the respondents nod in agreement) Moderator: And what type of car would they drive? Respondent 2: A shiny kind Respondent 6: A BMW Respondent 5: Yeah Respondent 3: Yeah BMW Moderator: A nice shiny BMW Respondent 6: Pricey but not too pricey Moderator: Can you describe any advertisement that you have seen from Abercrombie? Could be print, mobile, television. (All respondents shake their heads no) Moderator: You haven’t seen any? Moderator: Um, if you didn’t know what A&F stood for, Abercrombie & Fitch, what would you think the A and the F would stand for if you didn’t know what it stood for? Respondent 6: Always & Forever Respondent 5: What’s the soda? Oh wait that is A&W Moderator: So what did you say? Respondent 4: American & Freedom Moderator: And you said Respondent 6: Always & Forever Moderator: You said? Respondent 2: Air Force Respondent 1: I would associate it with fast food Moderator: I am now, um well actually my assistant, Elena is now going to uh place pictures of different brands and you guys are going to have to label it. Um, yeah you’ll

see! I, I can’t explain it. Yeah you’re going to have different pictures of outfits, we’re going to start off with females. So you four can work together. Right? Cause there is two sets. Um and you two are going to work together. So basically you are going to see the outfits and then see which brand is that outfit. (Groups worked together on projective photo technique) Moderator: Is uh, is everyone ready? Respondent 5: I think so Moderator: Is that your final answer? Okay, so for Hollister. Who did you guys put? Can you hold up the photo? (Respondents held up photos) Respondent 2: Hey (in agreement with the other group) Respondent 3: Yeah (laughs) Moderator: Can you explain why? Respondent 3: Um, flannel. Respondent 6: Flannel, shorts Respondent 4: Yeah, shorts. Respondent 6: White shorts. Moderator: Okay and um American Eagle? By the way, both of you were right. (Both teams held up a different photo) Moderator: Why did you pick these? Respondent 3: It’s how they positioned their jeans. Respondent 2: It had the whole live free vibe or whatever it is that they say. That was this one. Moderator: (Points to group 1) You guys were right. Moderator: Um, for Forever 21? Who did you guys put? (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: And why did you guys pick these two? Respondent 3: I don’t know (laughs) Respondent 5: I guess it’s that they have blazers and tailored jeans. Respondent 3: Yeah Respondent 2: It’s the whole shirt, the sheer shirt and “tribal” print Moderator: (Points to group 1) They were right Moderator: Okay who did you guys put for The Gap? (Respondents held up photos) Group 2: We got this one wrong Moderator: And why did you guys select that one for The Gap? (Respondents held up photos) Respondent 3: I don’t know the denim jacket Respondent 2: Cause it’s classy Moderator: (Points to group 1) They were right Moderator: Okay and Abercrombie & Fitch? (Respondents held up photos)

Respondent 5: We’re wrong Respondent 3: Yeah, we’re wrong Moderator: And why, but why did you guys select that? Respondent 3: Honestly, Respondent 4: It’s Europe right? Respondent 6: I said H&M Respondent 5: But it wasn’t an option (laughs) Moderator: And why did you select that as Abercrombie & Fitch? Respondent 1: Well I said it was because she was way too skinny and the flip flops. Moderator: Okay, good job guys. So now we are going to male outfits. So Elena is going to pass that out. And on the back write down what you put down for each outfit. (Groups worked together on picture projection) Moderator: Are you guys ready? Respondent 2: Yes. Moderator: Ok. So what did you guys put for Hollister? Hold them please. (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: Why did you guys like to choose this as Hollister? Respondent 2: I looked at the back. Moderator: Whoa! Don't look the back photo! Breena: No no no, those are their (the first focus group's) answers. Moderator: Yeah. Don't look the back. Those are other people's answers. Elena: They might be wrong. Moderator: Ok, so why did you guys select these people? Respondent 5: The plaid. Moderator: The plaid? Respondent 2: Yes. But this is different plaid (pointed to the photo) Moderator: (To Respondent 5) That one was right. Respondent 5: Yeah! Moderator: Whom do you guys prefer for American Eagle? (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: Ok. What did you guys put for American Eagle? Moderator: Why…why did you guys select…? Respondent 1: The background is obvious. Moderator: (to the left side) Why did you guys put that one? Respondent 4: The boots Respondent 5: The jackets Moderator: (to the right side) That one was right. Moderator: Ok. What did you guys select for Forever 21? (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: And why did you select that? Respondent 5: Err, the logo. Respondent 6: The long shirt.

Moderator: The long shirt? Respondent 2: He (Respondent 1) just picked that. Moderator: Ok. You both were right. Moderator: What did you guys select for Abercrombie & Fitch. (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: (to respondent 2) That one? Respondent 2: Yes. Moderator: (to the left side) You selected that for Abercrombie & Fitch? Respondent 6: Yes. Moderator: Why did you guys select these two? Respondent 2: The scarf. Moderator: The scarf? Respondent 5: The flip flops Moderator: Ok. (to the right side) That was Abercrombie & Fitch. Moderator: And…the Gap. (Respondents held up photos) Moderator: Why did you guys select that for Gap? Respondent 4: Nice casual clothes. Moderator: Nice casual clothes? Ok. Moderator: You both are right. Ok. All right, good job guys! Moderator: (to the right side) You got the Hollister wrong. (to the left side) And you guys got… Respondent 5: We got Abercrombie & Fitch wrong because you said that was American Eagle Moderator: So… you guys got…three? Respondent 3: Yes. Moderator: Ok. (to the right side) And you guys got…two? Respondent 1: Yes…no, we got four right. Moderator: No, I said they (the left side) got Hollister right and you got Hollister wrong. Respondent 2: Oh…Ok. Moderator: Ok. So please put the right answers on the back. Moderator: So now…next category, we are going to evaluate the attitudes about shopping. Moderator: What physical characteristics or qualities about a store are important to you? Respondent 3: I care pretty mush about dressing rooms. If there is no like…bench or chairs, I would probably not go to that store. Respondent 6: Like the space. Respondent 3: The lightings. Moderator: (to the right side) What do you guys think about it? Respondent 1: The space. Moderator: The space, like the layout over all the stores? Respondent 1: Yes.

Moderator: Ok. Since the Abercrombie & Fitch store closed in Gainesville, would you be willing to buy products online? All respondents: No. Moderator: Ok. Can you list something about Pros & Cons of online shopping? Respondent 5: The price. Moderator: What else? Respondent 6: The color. Sometimes the color looks different under the lights. If you pick a red but its not… Respondent 2: The shipping. Moderator: So the shipping affects you shopping online? Respondent 2: Yes. Moderator: So if you have free shipping, are you inclined to do more online shopping? Respondent 4: Also the returns are convenient. You just put it into box and you don't have to go to the post office. Moderator: Explain what makes a piece of clothing a “must have”. Respondent 3: The fit. Respondent 2: I agree. And the comfort. Moderator: Ok. According to a study by Reuters is said that Millennials are spending more money on technology than on clothing. Do you think you spend more money on clothing or technology? Most respondents: Technology. Respondent 5: Like the iPad Mini. Respondent 3: Yes. Like the iPad is shopped more frequently. But technology is more expensive. So if I have money I will choose to buy clothes. Moderator: So if you were given $500 to buy an iPad or clothes which one would you go for? All respondents: Clothes. Respondent 3: The clothes have more items to choose. Respondent 6: Assume that you don't have an iPad already? Moderator: Yes. Respondent 6: So…iPad. Respondent 4: I just think that $500 up front, in the economy of scale, you can get a lot of clothing for like cheaper versus if you buy an iPhone so like $500 can go a long way for clothing, but technology is more durable Moderator: (to Respondent 6) And you said you would like to get an iPad? Why? Respondent 6: I don't know. I just like technology. Moderator: (to the right side) And you guys like clothes? Why did you guys select clothes? Respondent 1: Because…I mean. You can use it ($500) to buy a lot of clothing. But you can only buy few technologies. Moderator: When you see a clothing brand is released about a hot social topic, it that impact you to shop at that stores. Respondent 2&5: Yes. Moderator: And why?

Respondent 3: Well…I mean, I would not be attracted by some advertising because some stuffs just like… the things in the Barbie shop, and I wouldn't shop at that store. Moderator: (to Respondent 1) How about you? Respondent 1: No… Moderator: Ok. This last category is about self-perception. So… do you consider yourself trendy? All respondents: No. Moderator: Why? Respondent 3: I just…I don't really care. I just like the stuff I’m wearing and it seems to be the least I should worry about. …And just like the regular way I want to wear. Respondent 4: I don’t even know what trendy is Moderator: So you said you just don't follow the social media that inform you what to wear, and you just go to stores to find something to wear. Respondent 3&4: Yeah. Moderator: Do you think your style represents who you are? Respondent 4: Yes, I think so. Respondent 1: Yeah. Moderator: Then, how? How do you your style represents who you are? Moderator: So…for example, if you think you are a very open person, buy you like black and white clothes, how do you think of that will represent you? Do you think? Or other opinions? Respondent 4: Yeah, I think you can tell person’s personality by their clothes. Like overall, you can’t define a person by their outfit Respondent 1: People may see why type of person you are and it also reflect your personalities. Respondent 3: Like if you wear Abercrombie & Fitch, people may think you are a high school jerk…so I think people may be stereotyped a little bit… Moderator: What is important to you when you choose a brand of clothing? Respondent 4: Value. Respondent 3: Yeah. And quality. Moderator: What clothing brand do you buy most? Respondent 3: American Eagle. Respondent 6: Target. Moderator: Typical characteristics of a casual outfit include comfy top, jeans and sneakers for a weekend hangout like shopping, watching movies with your friends. What is your ideal casual outfit? Respondent 3: Jeans and shirts. Respondent 4: T-shirts. Respondent 3: I may wear a nice top…but jeans…yeah. Respondent 2: I wear pants…my sneakers and yeah…shirts. Breena: Do you use social media to follow fashion trends? Respondent 3: I do on Instagram Breena: You do? Which ones? Respondent 3: I follow Victoria Secret, Pink, Havaianas which is like the flip flops.

Respondent 2: Modcloth but without actually buying it because it is expensive but I just like to look at it. Elena: Who is your fashion icon, if you have one, and why? Respondent 3: I don’t think I have one. I have a fashion icon for when I am older. I really like Princess Diana so, but Elena: Why would say that? Respondent 3: She’s classy but that’s for when I’m like older and can afford to dress like that. Cause now I can’t, I don’t really have the social situations to wear what she wears or wore. But yeah. Respondent 4: Now that I think about it, I don’t know his name because I am horrible with names but everybody seen White Collar? Respondent 2: YES! Respondent 4: That guy Respondent 2: The main character? Respondent 4: Neo Kakfri Respondent 2: Do it Respondent 4: That’s my boy right there. I’ll never rock the fedora but the guy is suave. Elena: Follow up question, let’s say your fashion icon, do you think the way they express themselves and the way they dress can affect how you see them? Respondent 5: Yes (Respondent 6 nods head in agreement) Elena: How so? Respondent 5: I don’t know if they just have a really, life if they start, maybe not before but if they started acting differently or like more in the media I kind of just like eh they’re boring now, they’re trashy now or something but yeah it does. Respondent 2: Can you repeat the question again? Elena: Okay so um your fashion icon or just really anyone who’s a trend setter, um do you think the way that they express themselves, the way they hold themselves affect how they carry themselves? Respondent 2: I don’t think people would take Emma Watson seriously as they do if she dressed like if she dressed like trashy, they wouldn’t take her seriously. She dresses like serious and she’s like wooo! So they take her seriously. Elena: I have another one okay so say you have a close friend that grew up with and you are comfortable with that friends and you trust their opinions. Um, but then this friend doesn’t like another person because of the way they look. Would you do anything, would you say anything? Respondent 2: To who? Elena: Your friend Respondent 4:I don’t think we would be friends, if he is judging like “oh this guy” I can’t see myself being friends with someone like that. But I guess they do have some influence on you if you trust them as a person. I kind of would ask them why. Respondent 6: I mean it all depends on what they are saying, what they are pointing out. If they are just absolutely tearing someone apart. I’m going to say something like,

what are you doing that for? Like why are you doing that? But if they make like a small comment and it doesn’t really affect me in any way and if I know the person or if I don’t know the person, it might change it too. My friend is like “Oh, I don’t like this person” but I like know them and know they are good person, then I’ll probably be like no, don’t judge them like that. They’re nice. But if I don’t know the person I don’t know I’d probably judge them as well like my friend. Respondent 3: I think rule of thumb is like if someone says something about that someone that the other person couldn’t change in five minutes. Like I would be very offended if some said “oh that person is like overweight” or something cause obviously they can’t change that in a short amount of time. But if they said something like “Oh I don’t like that shirt” then I really wouldn’t think much of it. Breena: Does have anyone have stores, like clothing store apps? Respondent 6: Yeah Breena: You do? Which ones? Respondent 6: I have Jack Threads but I never buy anything. I just look it’s like too hipster for me. I couldn’t pull it off. Respondent 4: Yeah Breena: Is it on the app? Respondent 6: Yeah Breena: What does the app do? Respondent 6: It just has all their clothes and stuff. They have like watches, I like their watches. My sister bought me watch from there once but like I just look but I don’t know I would never buy anything I think, but I like looking. Breena: So it’s like a catalog Respondent 6: Yeah Breena: So do you? Respondent 4: No Respondent 1: I have Jack Threads and then I only saw the app for American Eagle. Breena: Did you guys see more people wear Abercrombie & Fitch in high school or in college? All: High school Breena: Was it a constant thing? You all sounded pretty passionate about it. Respondent 6: I think it was fading out towards the end of my high school. Respondent 5: Mine was more junior high, like I saw a lot. Respondent 3: Middle was very Respondent 5: Yeah like at the end. Breena: Like the end of middle school and all through out high school? Respondent 6: I feel like if you went back just a little bit before I was in high school than it wasn’t high school. I feel like it got younger and younger. Respondent 1: It was much more in middle school. Respondent 3: It was like 2006-2009 was their prime. Moderator: During middle school and high school did you guys ever wear Abercrombie & Fitch? Respondent 3: Yeah in middle school, that was it.

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Respondent 6: No (Respondent 2 shook head no) Moderator: Did you consider yourselves like the cool kid? Or if you didn’t wear it did you consider the kids who did wear it the cool kids? Respondent 3: I mean Moderator: So like when you were in middle school and high school did you wear Abercrombie & Fitch at that time? Respondent 5: No but I wore Aeropostale in sixth grade because it was cool. Moderator: And so… Respondent 2: And they had Limited Too Respondent 5: Yeah haha Moderator: So the kids in middle school and high school who wore Abercrombie & Fitch, did you consider them the cool kids? Respondent 3: Yeah, cause they were like the richer kids at my school. Respondent 6: Definitely not high school though. Respondent 5: Not high school Respondent 3: Yeah not high school Moderator: So more middle school? Respondent 6: Middle school and like elementary maybe. Like I don’t know like a lot people would wear it, people who had money. Moderator: Do you guys have anything else to add? Alright, well I just want to thank everyone again for coming today. All of you provided some great comments and this will really help with our research. Before we end this focus group, does anybody else have further questions or ideas to contribute? Respondent 5: So why Abercrombie? Why was that your focus today? Moderator: So our purpose for our, uh, research we’re finding out why has the perception of Abercrombie & Fitch changed among 18-24 year olds because that’s their target market group. And they’re sales are going down so you guys are actually the group of people who don’t show there and yesterday we did people who do shop there. So we are trying to the get the attitudes and beliefs because we believe that this age group their attitudes and beliefs have changed according to what Abercrombie & Fitch have. So we trying to figure what is it, like how, what can Abercrombie & Fitch do in order to gain this market group back. If I explained that well cause I can’t even explain our problem statement well. Elena: I have another question, so think of the last thing you bought that was clothing wise little more pricier than you imagined. Could you please describe to me the events that lead up to the purchase and selection? Respondent 5: Yes, there is this really pretty maxi dress that I wanted. It wasn’t that expensive I just hate spending money. And I was like “I’m not going to buy, I’m not going to buy it.” My mom made me buy it she was like “you have got to start spending money” and so that’s what happened when I was talking to her. I was talking about it to my mom. So I bought it and yeah so, that’s that.

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Respondent 3: Mine was also a maxi dress. So, it wasn’t that expensive like she said. It was just more than I would spend on a piece of clothing. But I’ve been really wanting a maxi dress so. Respondent 2: I spent $30 on a watch at Disney, so yeah! Respondent 6: I bought some shoes. Not too long ago they weren’t crazy expensive. But I don’t have a lot of money so it was expensive to me. And it was like I really like them but I was sitting there like should I get it, I don’t know, I shouldn’t. I just went back and forth and I ended up buying them. If I had the unlimited budget or $500 I would have definitely bought them. But like how much money they were to me I had to think about it for a while. Moderator: Alright, so any other questions from you guys or ideas? Okay thank you so much, you guys are awesome.

Appendix 10 Pictures Project

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Appendix 11 Have you purchased anything from Abercrombie & Fitch in the last 6 months?

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Appendix 12 Shoppers’ answers to “How much are you willing to spend on a pair of jeans?”

Appendix 13

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Non-shoppers’ answers to “How much are you willing to spend on a pair of jeans?

Appendix 14 Shoppers’ to “Where do you usually get information on current trends or fashion?”

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Appendix 15 Non-shoppers’ answers to “Where do you usually get information on current trends or fashions?”

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Appendix 16 Abercrombie & Fitch Q1 Thank you for taking the time to do this survey. This research study is for an advertising research class at the University of Florida. The following questions will further our study about attitudes and opinions toward the branded clothing market and Abercrombie & Fitch. We would immensely appreciate your honest feedback.This survey should take about 10 to 15 minutes. Your answers will kept confidential and used for educational purposes only. Q2 What is your age? m 17 or younger (1) m 18-‐24 (2) m 25 or older (3) If 25 or older Is Selected, Then Skip To End of SurveyIf 17 or younger Is Selected, Then Skip To End of Survey

Q3 What is your gender? m Male (1) m Female (2) m Prefer not to answer (3)

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Q4 Are you currently a college student? m Yes (1) m No (2) If No Is Selected, Then Skip To End of Survey

Q5 Are you an international student? m Yes (1) m No (2) Q6 What year of college will you be starting in Fall 2015? m 1st (1) m 2nd (2) m 3rd (3) m 4th (4) m 5th (5) m 6th or higher (6) Q7 Have you purchased anything at Abercrombie and Fitch in the past six months? m Yes (1) m No (2) If No Is Selected, Then Skip To How many times a month do you go clot...

Q8 What items do you purchase from Abercrombie & Fitch? Check all that apply. q Jeans (1) q Tops (2) q Dresses (3) q Perfume (4) q Accessories (5) Q9 How many times a month do you go shopping for clothes? m 0-‐1 times (1) m 2-‐3 times (2) m 4-‐5 times (3) m 6 or more times (4) Q10 On average, how much do you spend a month on clothes? m $0-‐$20 (1) m $21-‐$40 (2) m $41-‐$60 (3) m $61-‐$80 (4) m $81 or more (5)

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Q11 How much are you willing to spend on a pair of jeans? m $0-‐$10 (1) m $11-‐$20 (2) m $21-‐$30 (3) m $31-‐$40 (4) m $41 or more (5) Q12 How much are you willing to spend on a plain T-‐shirt? m $0-‐$5 (1) m $6-‐$10 (2) m $11-‐$15 (3) m $15 or more (4) Q13 What stores do you currently buy clothes from? Select all that apply. q Abercrombie & Fitch (1) q American Eagle (2) q Forever 21 (3) q H&M (4) q The Gap (5) q Other (specify) (6) ____________________ Q14 What clothing store do you shop at the most? m Abercrombie & Fitch (1) m American Eagle (2) m Forever 21 (3) m H&M (4) m The Gap (5) m Other (specify) (6) ____________________ Q15 How much do you agree with this statement?

My clothes represent who I am (1)

Strongly agree (1)

Slightly agree (2)

Agree (3)

Neither Agree nor Disagree (4)

Disagree (5)

Slightly disagree (6)

Strongly Disagree (7)

m

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Q16 Which clothing style best describes you? Select at most two responses. q Hipster (1) q Bohemian (2) q Street (3) q Classic (4) q Preppy (5) q Urban (6) q Vintage (7) q Punk (8) q Other (specify) (9) ____________________ Q17 Do you consider yourself trendy? m Yes (1) m No (2) Q19 Where do you usually get information for current trends and fashion? m Magazines (1) m Social Media (2) m TV/Movie (3) m Word of mouth (4) m Other (5) ____________________ Q20 Rank in terms of importance (in numerical order with 1 being the most important and 7 being the least important) the factors of clothing that you consider important. [use each number once] ______ Quality (1) ______ Price (2) ______ Style (3) ______ Fit (4) ______ Comfort (5) ______ Brand (6) ______ Trend relevance (7) Q21 Rank in terms of importance (in numerical order with 1 being the most important and 5 being the least important) the factors of clothing brand characteristics that you consider important. [use each number once] ______ Customer Service (1) ______ Quality of products (2) ______ Selection of products (3) ______ Reputation (4) ______ Store layout (5)

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Q22 If given $2000 to spend on clothing and technology, how much would you spend on clothes and how much much would you spend on technology? ______ Clothes (1) ______ Technology (2) Q23 How do you primarily shop? m Based on brand name (1) m Based on interests (2) m Based on needs (3) m Other (4) ____________________ Q24 Rank which group is most likely (in numerical order with 1 being the most likely and 4 being the least likely) to wear Abercrombie & Fitch in terms of level of education. [use each number once] ______ Middle school students (1) ______ High school students (2) ______ Undergraduate college students (3) ______ Post-‐graduate college students (4) Q25 Do you think that Abercrombie & Fitch is still a popular brand? m Yes (1) m No (2) Answer If Do you think that Abercrombie and Fitch is still a popular brand? Yes Is Selected

Q26 Why do you think that Abercrombie & Fitch is a popular brand? Answer If Do you think that Abercrombie and Fitch is still a popular brand? No Is Selected

Q27 Why do you think that Abercrombie and Fitch is not a popular brand? Q28 Please pick the degree to which you like/dislike features of Abercrombie & Fitch.

Strongly like (1)

Slightly like (2)

Neutral (3)

Slightly dislike (4)

Strongly dislike (5)

Quality (1)

m

Price (2)

m

Store layout (3)

m

Lighting of store (4)

m

Customer service (5)

m

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Q30 Which of these options do you consider the values of Abercrombie & Fitch? Select all that apply. q Inclusive (1) q Exclusive (2) q Accepting (3) q Discriminatory (4) q Diversity (5) q Uniformity (6) q Popularity (7) Q31 Which of these options do you consider your personal values? Select all that apply. q Inclusive (1) q Exclusive (2) q Accepting (3) q Discriminatory (4) q Diversity (5) q Uniformity (6)

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Q32 Select at most three relevant descriptions for each brand.

Attractive (1)

Beachy (2)

Casual (3)

Cheap (4)

Expensive Modern (5) (6)

Stylish (7)

Trendy (8)

Abercrombie & Fitch (1)

q

American Eagle (2)

q

H&M (3)

q

Hollister (4)

q

Forever 21 (5)

q

The Gap (6)

q

Q33 Please pick the degree to how much you agree/disagree with the following statements.

Strongly Agree (1)

Agree (2)

Neither Agree nor Disagree (3)

Disagree (4)

Strongly Disagree (5)

Abercrombie & Fitch is for skinny people (1)

m

Abercrombie & Fitch is for "cool kids" (2)

m

Abercrombie & Fitch is for attractive people (3)

m

Abercrombie & Fitch is for wealthy people (4)

m

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Q34 Rate how much you agree/disagree with the following quote.

"In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-‐so-‐cool kids." (1)