1. What was the positioning of the brand, at least from the perspective of Michael Jeffries?
2. What impact has the statement made by Michael Jeffries had on the brand itself?
3. What is the company trying to do to repair the damage done by Michael's statement?
"A lot of people don't belong (in our clothes) and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely." This is a statement made by Mike Jeffries, CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch. Michael actually goes on to say he only wants "cool kids" in his clothes.
The impact of those words has had a huge repercussion on the brand. Stock prices dropped over 10% shortly after the CEO made his comments. Sales of A&F clothing were down 17% in the first quarter as well.
Numerous social media feeds show people throwing away their A&F clothes or telling others how they feel about the statement made by Jeffries, and their comments are not positive by any means.
Consumers are not happy. There have been protests across the country; people are very upset and continue to reiterate these sentiments on numerous social media sites.
In an attempt to "control" the outrage, A&F met with segments who would be targeted for this brand. Abercrombie and Fitch also released a statement saying: "we look forward to continuing this dialogue and taking concrete steps to demonstrate our commitment to anti-bullying and support of diversity and inclusion." Will the steps A&F have taken resolve the issue? Based on the impact, probably not. A&F will have to do more to soothe the hurt feelings they have caused to their public.