ABERCOMBIE & FITCH How far should organisations go to attract the right candidates? Abercrombie & Fitch, the US-based clothing store, is known for its good-looking salesmen who often stroll with their tops off in or outside the shop. The clothing retailer has developed a highly successful market base by attracting (primarily) teenagers into their stores using sophisticated and targeted marketing. This involves the use of young, beautiful and predominantly white models and employees to attract younger customers. Mike Jeffries, head of the retailer, justified recruiting good-looking people because they attracted other good-looking people: We want to market to cool, good-looking people. We dont market to anyone other than that, he said in an interview in 2006. Over the past few years, the company has been involved in various law suites across the world for suspected discriminatory recruitment practices based on looks. For example, in 2010 when Abercrombie & Fitch planned to open a store in Aberdeen, the company found itself at the centre of a discrimination row after posters were put up outside the store asking for cool and good looking people [to] come and represent our brands. This came just months after the company was found guilty of harassment and unfair dismissal of Riam Dean, a disabled employee who was required to work in the storeroomonly because of his disability. More recently, Michael Bustin, the pilot of the corporate jet, was fired for being untrendy and too old and the French rights watchdog investigated the company in France in 2013 for its recruitment policy in its flagship Champs Elysee store. It seems that Abercrombie & Fitch may have had enough of lawsuits as it announced in April 2015 major changes to its recruitment policies in its and its stablemate Hollister stores. The company will no longer be hiring store associates based on looks and body type, gone are the shirtless promotion activities and store staff will be called brand representatives and not models. A company spokesman commented that of course we will continue not to discriminate against any protected characteristic.

Questions

1. Is there really anything wrong with targeting good-looking and cool prospective employees?

2. Would older workers genuinely want to work in an environment where the customers are predominantly teenagers?