Abercrombie & Fitch gets a sophisticated new look. Does it work?
Abercrombie is now aiming to be more of a premium label that targets adults. How will it affect the clothes?
A woman walks by a discount sign at an Abercrombie & Fitch store at a shopping mall in Garden City, New York.
Shannon Stapleton/Reuters/File
Abercrombie & Fitch has been struggling for awhile now, as its main demographic of mall-roaming teenagers has become more interested in other brands (like Starbucks, supposedly). Abercrombie has thus been trying to expand its appeal and find a wider audience of shoppers.
These efforts have resulted in a branding shift; Abercrombie is now aiming to be more of a premium label that targets adults, while sister store Hollister aims to grab the teens and "fast fashion" market.
So how will that affect the clothes?
One of the most obvious changes is that Abercrombie is putting its logo on fewer items.
In the past, the brand would slap its name all over sweats and T-shirts, but supposedly that won't be so prominent going forward — or so they say. We still found a ton of items that sported the Abercrombie name, but the store's advertising is definitely light on logos.
Another noteworthy change? No more naked models in Abercrombie's ads, and no more shirtless guys standing at the entrance to their stores.
As the Straits Times puts it, the store is "shedding its abs image." If you were someone who actually enjoyed this stalwart of suburban shopping centers, then consider taking a moment to say goodbye to these guys, because it's the last time.
The result of these changes is a line of clothing and ads that Business Insider describes as more sophisticated, but perhaps a bit dull. That site has additional images of the brand's transformation here.
Readers, what do you think of Abercrombie's new look? Are the clothes more adult, or are they too dull?
This article first appeared in DealNews.