Company Profile - Abercrombie

FSP Retailer Profiles Abercrombie and Fitch

FSP Retailer Profiles Abercrombie & Fitch About Abercrombie & Fitch is an American clothing retailer offering

History • 1892 - The brand Abercrombie and Fitch was established • 1907 - Founder David T. Abercrombie sells his share to co-founder Ezra Fitch (actually a later investor) • 1928 - Fitch retires and sell his shares to brother-in-law James S Cobb. • 1977 - A&F file for bankruptcy and close in • 1978 - Acquired by Oshmans, a sporting goods retailer • 1995 - there are 67 stores open in America • 1998 - Bought by Limited Brands • 2000 - Hollister is launched, a spin of brand from Abercrombie and Fitch aimed at high school consumers • 2008 - Gilly Hicks is launched. Products include lingerie and perfume with an Australian theme • 2011 -Gilly Hicks is launched in the UK

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menswear, womenswear, and childrenswear with an Assured Fashion focus and aimed at the Upper Middle of the market. There is one eponymous UK store and a transactional website. Sub-brand Hollister also has a presence in the UK and Gilly Hicks is destined for the UK too. Originally founded in 1892 in Manhattan by David T. Abercrombie, Abercrombie & Fitch had been an elite outfitter of sporting and excursion goods. It struggled financially from the late 1960s until it was purchased by The Limited in 1988 and repositioned, under the management of Michael Jeffries, as the aspirational "Casual Luxury" lifestyle brand in present form Having been publicly floated in 1996, Abercrombie & Fitch Co now comprises 4 brands: Abercrombie & Fitch, Abercrombie kids and Hollister being casual sportswear apparel retailers for men, women and children and Gilly Hicks offering underwear, sleepwear and personal care products for women. Until mid-2009 Abercrombie & Fitch Co operated a fifth brand RUEHL, also offering casual wear, but a review of performance of the brand and related property resulted in a closure of all the stores