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[Ripclawe]

http://www.businessinsider.com/abercrombie-wants-thin-customers-2013-5

Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch doesn't stock XL or XXL sizes in women's clothing because they don't want overweight women wearing their brand.

They want the "cool kids," and they don't consider plus-sized women as being a part of that group.

Abercrombie is sticking to its guns of conventional beauty, even as that standard becomes outdated.

Contrast Abercrombie with H&M, another favorite with the teen set, who just subtly introduced a plus-sized model in its latest swimwear collection.

H&M has a plus-sized line. American Eagle, Abercrombie's biggest competitor, offers up to size XXL for men and women.

Abercrombie doesn't even list women's XL or XXL on its size chart. Its largest women's pants are a size 10, while H&M's standard line goes up to a size 16, and American Eagle offers up to 18.

It's not surprising that Abercrombie excludes plus-sized women considering the attitude of CEO Mike Jeffries, said Robin Lewis, co-author of The New Rules of Retail and CEO of newsletter The Robin Report.

"He doesn't want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people," Lewis told Business Insider. "He doesn't want his core customers to see people who aren't as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they're one of the 'cool kids.'"

The only reason Abercrombie offers XL and XXL men's sizes is probably to appeal to beefy football players and wrestlers, Lewis said.

We asked the company why it doesn't offer larger sizes for women. A spokeswoman told us that Abercrombie wasn't available to provide a comment.

In a 2006 interview with Salon, Jeffries himself said that his business was built around sex appeal.

“It’s almost everything. That’s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don’t market to anyone other than that,” Jeffries said.

Jeffries also told Salon that he wasn't bothered by excluding some customers.

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he told the site. “Candidly, we go after the cool kids.

We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely."

Jeffries said he thinks that including everyone would make his business boring.

"Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don’t alienate anybody, but you don’t excite anybody, either," he told Salon.

While a specialty retailer like Abercrombie can't be expected to appeal to everyone, the brand's standard of beauty is quickly becoming stale.

Plus-sized is no longer a niche market: 67 percent of the apparel purchasing population fit that label, and the number is growing all the time.

For too long, this sizable and growing segment has been ignored," writes Margaret Bogenrief at ACM Partners. "Treated shabbily, ostracized by the “pro-skinny fashion world,” and seemingly discarded by designers, department stores, and retailers alike, plus-size fashion consumers, critics, and bloggers are taking back their spending and sartorial power and, in turn, changing both the e-commerce and retailing landscapes."

Ignoring this "revolution" could be costly for businesses, Bogenrief writes.

More brands are featuring curvy, "real-sized," models.

In addition to H&M's Jennie Runk, Dove's wildly popular "Real Beauty" campaign highlights women who aren't as thin as traditional models.

But it's unlikely that Abercrombie will ever sway from its image, Lewis told us.

"Abercrombie is only interested in people with washboard stomachs who look like they're about to jump on a surfboard," Lewis said.


Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/abercrombie-wants-thin-customers-2013-5#ixzz2Sf5fYHq3

 

[DominoKid]

Wont stop em from trying to squeeze into it anyway.

 

[Eighty Deuce]

but I like big butts

 

[apesh1t]

mmmmmmm bbws

 

[Karsticles]

It's their product, they can make it however they want. It's not like they're banning people from entering the store.

 

[vitaminwateryum]

Frankenbusey only wants cool kids to wear his clothes.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

Makes sense. Cool kids won't want to wear it if the fat kids are wearing it.

 

[Exterminieren]

Abercrombie have their niche. Sucks, but what're you going to do.

I don't own any of their clothing because I don't consider myself to be a douche.

 

[Polari]

Who wears that crap anyway.

fatties need to look cool too

Abercrombie are probably doing them a favour then.

 

[Escape Goat]

fatties need to look cool too

 

[params7]

Eh, their business style and they want to maintain the strongest identity with their target demographics. The CEO didn't have to be that explicit though.

 

[BertramCooper]

Yup, gotta be one of the cool kids.

 

[Ra\/en]

Frankenbusey only wants cool kids to wear his clothes.

What is this creature?


Also, they can do what they want. I doubt you would find XL or XXL sizes in le chateau and other similar stores.

 

[Frankie Williamson]

Let those who don't look like Chunk throw the first stone.

 

[Skeyser]

i'm not cool but i fit in their clothes, what's up with this

 

[lenovox1]

Makes sense. Cool kids won't want to wear it if the fat kids are wearing it.

But do "cool kids" even want to wear it at all?

 

[Cmerrill]

I don't see anything wrong with it. It's their choice to have their product displayed as they wish. It also costs more to make plus size clothing.

 

[Pollux]

Good for him. Fat people need to stop complaining that the world doesn't accommodate them start realizing that if they want to be "normal" lose the weight.

Also, the owner looks like something out of a child's nightmare. And if some of the rumor's are true that might be a literal statement as well.

 

[apesh1t]

whats wrong with that dude's face? He's got Rocky Dennis action happening

 

[dcdobson]

Frankenbusey only wants cool kids to wear his clothes.

Homie looks like Krang!

 

[neojubei]

i'm not cool but i fit in their clothes, what's up with this

you are cool to me. so now there ya go.

 

[ElectricBlue187]

But do "cool kids" even want to wear it at all?

I have no idea what the kids are into these days.

 

[Madness]

So what? It's their brand. They can do whatever they want. If they don't make plus sized clothing, shop somewhere that does.

Now people are complaining that a business/company doesn't want their money?

 

[BertramCooper]

I don't see anything wrong with it. It's their choice to have their product displayed as they wish. It also costs more to make plus size clothing.

Really it's more of an issue with their CEO being a twisted freak who trumpets an exceedingly vain, shallow worldview and promotes a bizarre corporate culture.

 

[mr2xxx]

Not much different than when a clothing company prices out the majority of people so only the well off get it or those who want to go into debt. Plenty of people buy certain brands for the image and not so much for the quality so I can't blame the CEO for doing what they are doing. Stuff like this says much more about our society than a particular brand.

 

[Tesseract]

this dude must sob like a baby when the lights go out.

 

[Fusebox]

I'm okay with this. I don't get the hate for their clothes though, I reserve my hate for labels that genuinely deserve it like Ed Hardy and Affliction.

 

[Horse Detective]

Who buys Abercrombie in 2013

 

[Bam Bam Baklava]

Nobody wants Abercrombie anyways. If they think they can win anyone cool they are mistaken.

 

[lenovox1]

Also, they can do what they want. I doubt you would find XL or XXL sizes in le chateau and other similar stores.

Amy mid-market brand targeting adults that doesn't offer "plus sizes" is a brand that's begging to fail. In my view, Abercrombie can only "get away" with it because it's a youth brand.

 

[Horse Detective]

Nobody wants Abercrombie anyways. If they think they can win anyone cool they are mistaken.

Damn, we are in sync.

 

[Pollux]

The fact that the plus size market is growing is also a problem, and should be counteracted immediately. Cheaper options for healthy foods, incentives for losing weight (hell even tax incentives if you want to go really crazy), and other methods to encourage the population to get off the couch and out burning some calories and eating better.

 

[UnluckyKate]

THey are having a brand image and sticking to it. I'm okay with that.

But I will never pay the money they ask for their clothes

 

[human5892]

"For too long, this sizable and growing segment has been ignored,"

*smirk*

 

[Fusebox]

I can always find something I like at Abercrombie, their unbranded sweaters and chunky shirts last me forever.

I wouldn't buy anything with Abercrombie emblazoned across it though but then that's a rule I apply to all my clothes.

 

[sikkinixx]

Not surprising from the store that has bikini'd models and topless dudes hustling people to come in the store.

 

[Angry Grimace]

The entirety of their sales staff is Hey-Brah's. What did you expect?

 

[Mesoian]

Unsurprising and common. It's not just A&F, it's all modern brands that haven't been picked up by major chains. If Hillfinger wasn't being sold at Walmart, they wouldn't either.

 

[spiderman123]

I like Abercrombie & Fitch clothing

 

[Maximus.]

They don't have to cater to everyone. Their choice. People that bent out of shape of it should consider fixing their weight.

 

[Alucrid]

I like Abercrombie & Fitch clothing

 

[Fusebox]

I think that fat people should be charged extra for flights too.

 

[Liquid_Bike]

I can always find something I like at Abercrombie, their unbranded sweaters and chunky shirts last me forever.

I wouldn't buy anything with Abercrombie emblazoned across it though but then that's a rule I apply to all my clothes.

I agree their unbranded stuff if pretty decent.

 

[DarkFlow]

One of my exs worked at one store for a day. She quit because she said everyone was asshole about how they treated people who came in.

 

[kirblar]

Brands are advertising. They don't want fat people advertising their clothes. I can understand why.

 

[Skeyser]

it's kind of a weird business strategy to cut yourself out of a huge part of the market in my opinion. Can fat people really ruin a brand by wearing it?

 

[smurfx]

http://www.businessinsider.com/abercrombie-is-in-trouble-2013-2

they should start selling to fat people because they are failing.

 

[nateeasy]

Good for them.

 

[Alucrid]

it's kind of a weird business strategy to cut yourself out of a huge part of the market in my opinion. Can fat people really ruin a brand by wearing it?

kanye ruined lanvin, margiela, rick owens, etc.

 

[lenovox1]

The fact that the plus size market is growing is also a problem, and should be counteracted immediately. Cheaper options for healthy foods, incentives for losing weight (hell even tax incentives if you want to go really crazy), and other methods to encourage the population to get off the couch and out burning some calories and eating better.

I think that had less to do with the amount of overweight people, and more to do with larger people wanting more options.

Abercrombie and Fitch should only be an option for someone like this:

(Grown man trying to attract twinks)

So that's irrelevant.