The posh abercrombie and fitch Residence Club is offering a trial membership for those interested in trying out one of the club’s multi-million-dollar residences (and really who wouldn’t be?). The Trial Membership offers access to beach, mountain and golf destinations in idyllic vaction spots including the Turks & Caicos, Deer Valley and Kiawah Island.
As the Sherpa Report mentioned last month, this is actually a trend with several other clubs including Exclusive Resorts, Ultimate Escapes and Quintess also all offering trial memberships to tempt travelers during a time when people are cutting back on their vacationing.
A chastened Abercrombie & Fitch Co. said Friday it is actively lowering prices and trying to catch up with fashion trends such as dresses as the retailer reported a fiscal second-quarter loss and its third straight quarter of double-digit sales declines.The preppy teen retailer entered the recession determined to wait it out, maintaining its relatively high prices and investing internationally. But consumers have abandoned Abercrombie for lower-priced options such as Aeropostale Inc. and American Eagle Outfitters Inc.
In response, the company has cut jobs and shuttered its even higher-priced Ruehl chain aimed at 20- and 30-somethings.CEO Mike Jeffries said the company made a misstep with Ruehl.
“The biggest learning from Ruehl is that as a company, we don’t do ‘mature’ well,” Jeffries said in a conference call with investors.
Jeffries said the company has introduced lower prices and will lower prices even more in coming quarters.
“We continue to be confronted with very challenging conditions during the second quarter,” Jeffries said. “Consumer spending patterns domestically continue to be dictated by cost and value propositions, and this is clearly a headwind for our premium brands.”
In the quarter ended ended Aug. 1,
abercrombie’s loss totaled $26.7 million, or 30 cents per share. That compares with profit of $77.8 million, or 87 cents per share, a year ago.
Quarterly results included $24.4 million in charges for the
Rueh closing and store asset impairment charges. The company would not provide a per-share loss excluding the closure. However, Thomas Weisel Partners analyst Liz Dunn estimated the loss excluding one-time items would be about 8 cents per share.
Analysts forecast a loss of 7 cents per share. Analyst estimates typically exclude one-time items.
Sales dropped 23 percent to $648.5 million, but that topped analyst expectations of $646.5 million.
New Albany, Ohio-based Abercrombie & Fitch Co., which operates of namesake stores as well as abercrombie, its children’s apparel brand; surf-themed Hollister; and intimate apparel store Gilly Hicks, said sales in stores open at least one year, a key retail metric known as same-store sales, dropped 30 percent. Same-store sales fell 27 percent at namesake stores, 29 percent at abercrombie stores, 33 percent at Hollister and 31 percent at Ruehl.
Known for preppy offerings such as jeans and polo shirts, Abercrombie said it is working to improve its fashion offerings, particulary for women. Dresses and belts have been selling well.
“We are always pushing ourselves … but have admittedly missed some of the fashion opportunities that drove the business in the spring,” Jefferies said.
Prices are also in flux. The company said the average prices will be lower in the third quarter and upcoming quarters than the second quarter.
“We are planning to deliver greater reductions in (average unit retail price) for the fall season, but we’ll continue to review pricing on an ongoing basis,” Jefferies said.
The company slashed marketing, general and administrative costs during the quarter, down 19 percent to $88.7 million from $109 million last year.
The closing of Ruehl, its store focused on handbags and other accessories and aimed at older shoppers, should be complete by the end of the fiscal year.
Jeffries said the company’s Gilly Hicks intimate apparel brand, which was skewing older, will now be aimed at the company’s 20-year-old target market.
“We are young, we’re sexy, we’re controversial at times,” Jeffries said. “That’s what we know how to do, and that’s the business that we own here and are comfortable that we can around the world.”
Abercrombie had “pretty decent results, better than we expected,” said Keybanc Capital Markets analyst Ed Yruma. “They’re getting traction on changes in their promotional strategy, including being more focused on denim and on opening price points.”
Shares rose 99 cents, or 3 percent, to $33.95 during morning trading.
Most residences are 4,000 square feet with four bedrooms and at least four bathrooms providing a luxurious home away from home for a gathering of family and friends to celebrate a special event or just gather for some much-needed relaxation. The Trial Membership provides access to the full range of Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club services including a dedicated Global Experience Manager to orchestrate every aspect of your stay, greeting at the airport and private transportation to the residence, pre-arrival grocery shopping, daily housekeeping and the local knowledge and activity-planning assistance of a Destination Host.
For a limited time, Trial Membership in the Abercrombie & Kent Residence Club is available for $1,400 per night. Reservations can be made for a minimum of three and a maximum of seven nights and can be made from two to 180 days in advance of travel date but must be made by September 30, 2009. More details on the club website.
Very ugly abercrombie
August 26th, 2009 by cyj.butterflyAbercrombie and fitch!!
August 24th, 2009 by cyj.butterflyabercrombie and fitch (A&F) is an American lifestyle brand and company that markets youth apparel. It encompasses five brands: the namesake flagship brand Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie kids, Hollister Co., RUEHL No.925, and Gilly Hicks. Products bear the moose logo, and are only available in A&F stores, located in the United States, Canada, and London, England, and its website. Competitor brands include Gap, American Eagle Outfitters, Aéropostale, Buckle, Urban Outfitters, and Rugby Ralph Lauren.
Founded in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie, A&F had been an 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 S. Jeffries (current Chairman & CEO), as the “Casual Luxury” lifestyle brand in present day.
Prominent figures who patronized the company in its excursion goods days include Teddy Roosevelt,Amelia Earhart, John French Sloan, Greta Garbo, Katharine Hepburn, Clark Gable, Cole Porter, John Steinbeck,[ Ernest Hemingway John F. Kennedy, Robert Peary, Duke of Windsor, Ernest Shackleton, and Dwight Eisenhower.
The company was originally established as Abercrombie Co. by David T. Abercrombie on June 4, 1892, as a small waterfront shop at No.36 South Street in downtown Manhattan, New York. Wealthy New York lawyer Ezra Fitch was one of his regular customers. In 1900, Fitch left his law practice and bought a major share into the growing company, thus becoming co-founder. Afterwards, Abercrombie Co. moved into larger quarters at 314 Broadway, and Fitch began to implement experimental ideas to renovate the store. In 1904, Fitch's surname was incorporated and so the official name was changed to Abercrombie & Fitch Co.. Partnership between the founders did not end well. The two men, envisioning different ideas for the future of A&F, quarreled frequently while the company continued to grow. Fitch wished to expand the company's appeal to the general public, whereas Abercrombie wanted to continue selling professional gear to professional outdoorsmen. As a result, Abercrombie sold his share in the company to Fitch in 1907 and returned to manufacturing outdoor goods. Fitch continued the business with other partners and was able to direct the company as he pleased for the first time.
Entering into the 21st century, Abercrombie & Fitch was rated as the sixth most popular brand (in front of Nintendo and Levis) by teenagers in a survey held by Teenage Researchers Unlimited and reported about in Time.[24] The company introduced its third brand, Hollister Co., in July 2000. The third concept was based on Southern California surf lifestyle, and was targeted towards high-schoolers. Hollister had a cannibalizing affect on the A&F brand, and so the company brought forth the high-end Ezra Fitch collection, and began producing A&F clothing with higher-grade materials, thus increasing the prices.
Entering 2008, Abercrombie & Fitch introduced its fifth anticipated concept, Gilly Hicks: Sydney, January 21. The store, in Natick Collection, became the target of attention throughout the day and the brand has enjoyed great success. By April 2008, A&F relaunched A&F Quarterly exclusively for the European market, reuniting the entire force behind the original publication for the release in the UK flagship.
Abercrombie is spam
August 22nd, 2009 by cyj.butterfly Joe Abercrombie describes his work as “unheroic fantasy”, a beautifully turned phrase which it’s hard to better if you need to quickly sum up Best Served Cold. Put simply, there are no gallant, selfless or likeable characters in Abercombie’s first standalone novel – yet somehow, you find yourself rooting for many of them. The basic plot, as the title clearly suggests, is a classic quest for revenge, but it’s in the execution, with a gleeful disregard for the ever-growing body count, and in the flawed characters, that Abercrombie’s talent shines.
.
Riam Dean has a prosthetic arm that attaches at the elbow, and she typically wears a sweater to cover the prosthetic. While A&F employees are required to wear jeans and a polo shirt, she was given permission to wear a white cardigan while working on the floor. But only a few days after she started work, the store was paid a visit by the “visual team.” This group’s purpose is to sure the shop and its staff look up to code. One of the members of the team demanded she take off the cardigan, but she insisted she had permission to wear it. Nevertheless, she was asked by management to continue her employment in the stockroom, far out of the public eye. Management claimed that she “violated the ‘Look Policy,” which is an imperative part of working for such a prestigious clothing outlet. As if she could help the fact that she is, unfortunately, missing an arm. Totally her fault, I suppose. The nerve. Pssh.
A&F has never been a stranger to discrimination suits; one was recently settled in the US for discrimination during the hiring process in that they would allegedly only hire “young and beautiful” men and women to work in their stores.
Abercrombie and Fitch recently announced it will pull the plug on its RUEHL chain, a concept with 29 stores in high-profile malls across the country that targeted well-heeled consumers in their 20s. Abercrombie blamed “the severe economic downturn” for sinking the stores, which launched in 2004, generating an operating loss of $58 million during the company’s prior fiscal year.
But maybe it’s not just the economy’s fault in this case. REUHL is just another example long line of concepts rolled out by established chains over the last few years that were either closed or abandoned. The lesson here is that some of these retailers might be better off sticking to their core concepts instead of pushing ever more demographic-specific options out to the consumer.
Shivers is the only character in Best Served Cold making a conscious effort to be a better person. The trouble, as he discovers, is that death follows Monza Murcatto around like a faithful companion – and one revenge scheme after another comes to define the word ‘overkill’. Along the way, there are plenty of double-crosses and revelations that give us opportunities to re-evaluate our initial impressions of the characters, not least Monza’s deceased brother, and the action shifts from one city to another, all in the midst of the ongoing civil war in which Monza made her name as a mercenary.
Best Served Cold exhibits abercrombie’s trademark black humour in spades, and the standalone novel form provides him with ample opportunity to show off his plotting skills – but don’t let the glibness fool you, the author and his characters do recognise the terrible nature of the violence being described, and don’t try to downplay the human cost. It’s a testament to Abercrombie’s skill as a storyteller that he can, over the course of your acquaintance with them, make you care about generals, assassins, cut-throats, barbarians, poisoners and (worst of all?) politicians so much, and in spite of their dubious deeds. Best Served cold is definitely this author’s best work to date, and I would be very happy to see him continue in this vein when he returns to the wonderful world he has created.
Abercrombie Mens
Abercrombie Womens
The Abercrombie & Fitch Icon
August 18th, 2009 by cyj.butterfly
Why would any otherwise normal all-American male college student agree to be photographed frolicking nude on a beach, wrestling with other college guys or simply modeling shirtless before an unforgiving camera lens? Why? It is to be the new icon of male modeling.
Every age has its icons. Whether it be the Gibson Girls at the turn of the last century or the Vargas Girls of the World War II generation or the Arrow Shirt Men of 1950s, pop culture history is documented by the images of beauty, perfection and sexuality of the day. And, while the Pin Ups of the past were reserved for the image of feminine beauty, today college guys are having their turn.
The Abercrombie Male Model is the new gold standard of male modeling. The abercrombie Male has transcended the four corners of product marketing and become in itself an historic artifact recording pop culture of our day. Like the statues of the perfect male form found in the ruins of Greek and Roman temples, today’s Abercrombie model is tomorrow’s history in the making.
The appeal of the Abercrombie Model is rooted in its realness. That’s because Abercrombie Models are real guys culled from college campuses around the country. You know them, you’ve hung out with them, you’ve got so drunk with them on a Friday night that you swore off alcohol for a year – or at least until next Friday night. They are in your Fraternity, in your class and in your dorm room. Abercrombie modeling is, in fact, not for the professional male model although many an Abercrombie Model has gone on to earn unfathomable success as professional male models and actors.
abercrombie and fitch models are not always frat boys. They are often college athletes who live a fun “fraternity” life. With the exception of notable standouts who developed a fan base like The Carlson Twins, Abercrombie often uses male models only once, allowing campus guys to go on to expanded modeling careers. Review a sampling of any A&F Quarterly or current Abercrombie New Faces and you’ll see a strong showing among athletes. Jeremy Bloom was a champion skier and football player, Abe Taylor was a wrestler and ran cross country, Jeff Popovich was a football player, Kyle Maynard got noticed because he was a wrestler and born with a congenital disorder. Jeremy Black wrestled, Warren Kenzie was a swimmer, Brad Kroenig, was a soccer standout. Charlie Scheerer was an athlete at SMU, and Josh Yetzer was a standout high school wrestler.
So, a would-be Abercrombie model would be smart to let casting directors know of their athletic prowess as well as lack of inhibition when unclothed. Athletes have always been accustom to being nude in the locker room. It is a short step for production planners to translate that comfort in the locker room with comfortableness in front of the camera. Joseph Sayers certainly got his notice by being a wrestler who posed nude for a Playgirl casting submission. Abercrombie definitely pays more than Playgirl!
Abercrombie modeling is to become an Adjective. The term Abercrombie Model is an instantly recognizable description of the perfect All American College Jock. The Abercrombie Male Model is the look, the feel, the image of the physical appearance for which all will strive. Even Hollister, the new spin-off brand name is the new target for would be aspiring high school male models.
So, why would an otherwise normal college guy run on a beach naked and wrestle with other guys in front of a camera? The answer is simple. It is to be immortalized as the new American male icon – the Abercrombie Model.
Vicky Phipps is part of Campus Men, a calendar & male modeling resource company has been making good looking college guys famous since 1990. Campus Men offers free advice to College Athletes who are interested in male modeling and offers modeling tips for college guys seeking to become Abercrombie Models.
Riam Dean & abercrombie
August 10th, 2009 by cyj.butterfly Riam Dean, a British law student, is suing abercrombie and fitch for discriminating against her because she was born without a
forearm. When the store hired Dean to work on the sales floor, nobody seemed to have a problem with her
prosthetic arm, which she’s worn her whole life. And when she asked for permission to modify the company’s
strict uniform rules (polo shirts, jeans, all-American heartiness) by wearing a cardigan to hide the prosthetic,
her boss told her it was fine.
Several days later, however, the company’s “visual team” stopped by and insisted that Dean lose the
sweater. Shortly thereafter, she was sent to the stockroom for “breaking the Look Policy,” which apparently
requires multiple arms. When another superior asked her to stay in the stockroom until winter rolled around,
she quit, and now she’s suing. Abercrombie’s run into trouble in the past for discriminating against employees who don’t fit
its athletic blond image—in 2004, the company settled a class auction lawsuit that alleged it was steering
non-white job applicants into stockroom and janitorial roles.
When I asked my middle schoolers where they would like to shop, abercrombie is usually at the top of
their list. But as a parent, do I want to shop in a store that promotes kids looking like their older college aged
counterparts with questionable images, pricey ripped jeans and tees with “Girl Bait” on them?
While shopping in the store whose target buyer is the cool attractive all-American kid, music blares in
the background as you purchase your $50 jeans and $38 moose logo polo shirt from a young “all-American”
sales clerk doused in fragrance who you can’t hear just to make your child happy. Which makes me ponder
…. Am I mom of the year? or Does this chain have a brilliant marketing strategy? After all, here I am buying
and I really don’t want to be here.
I also questioned how a store such as this was fairing in these tough economic conditions. While their
competitors are slashing prices to stay afloat, abercrombie is staying the course. Come to find out, the
teenage apparel chain has had some of the worst sales declines in the retailing industry. In the last three
months Abercrombie & Fitch lost $26.8 million, in contrast to a profit of $62.1 million a year ago.
Now what are they going to do? Lower the volume in their stores? (I so candidly was told to shop online
instead.) Will they change their images to appeal to a broader shopping base? Highly unlikely since CEO,
Mike Jeffries wants the stores to have an “emotional experience” which is exclusive to the “good-looking”
crowd.
So the last thing to do is offer up some promotions and discounts for their loyal customers, a tactic A&F
refused in order to maintain their high end image until recently. They have announced they will seek better
deals from suppliers and pass the savings along to their customers with some more affordable merchandise.
In addition, they admitted to missing the trend mark this summer and will be offering more dresses rather
than skirts and add colorful and patterned clothing to their lines.
Hollister
You can bug abercrombie cheaper.
July 14th, 2009 by cyj.butterflyabercrombie and fitch
A lot of people abuse the legal system and look for loopholes to sue over practically everything. I have a family member quite like that and it drives me up the frigging wall. Yet, I hope Riam gets every penny. I hope she triple-sues. I hope after the suit goes through, she receives her requested money and additional funds for pain and suffering. The embarrassment at her treatment by A&F must be immense.
However, she never let her physical handicap become just that - a handicap. Dean is currently a student at Queen Mary University, located in London, and is pursuing a barrister’s degree.
But only a few days after she started work, the store was paid a visit by the “visual team.” This group’s purpose is to sure the shop and its staff look up to code. One of the members of the team demanded she take off the cardigan, but she insisted she had permission to wear it. Nevertheless, she was asked by management to continue her employment in the stockroom, far out of the public eye. Management claimed that she “violated the ‘Look Policy,” which is an imperative part of working for such a prestigious clothing outlet. As if she could help the fact that she is, unfortunately, missing an arm. Totally her fault, I suppose. The nerve. Pssh.
Put simply, there are no gallant, selfless or likeable characters in abercrombie’s first standalone novel – yet somehow, you find yourself rooting for many of them. The basic plot, as the title clearly suggests, is a classic quest for revenge, but it’s in the execution, with a gleeful disregard for the ever-growing body count, and in the flawed characters, that Abercrombie’s talent shines.
I don’t know abercrombie
July 13th, 2009 by cyj.butterflyabercrombie and Fitch
I am not one of those sue-crazy citizens. I think that a lot of the lawsuits nowadays are setups. A lot of people abuse the legal system and look for loopholes to sue over practically everything. I have a family member quite like that and it drives me up the frigging wall. Yet, I hope Riam gets every penny. I hope she triple-sues. I hope after the suit goes through, she receives her requested money and additional funds for pain and suffering. The embarrassment at her treatment by A&F must be immense.
I am not one of those sue-crazy citizens. abercrombie. I think that a lot of the lawsuits nowadays are setups. A lot of people abuse the legal system and look for loopholes to sue over practically everything. I have a family member quite like that and it drives me up the frigging wall. Yet, I hope Riam gets every penny. I hope she triple-sues. I hope after the suit goes through, she receives her requested money and additional funds for pain and suffering. The embarrassment at her treatment by A&F must be immense.
A&F has never been a stranger to discrimination suits; one was recently settled in the US for discrimination during the hiring process in that they would allegedly only hire “young and beautiful” men and women to work in their stores.
abercrombie and Fitch
This year’s winter wear Abercrombie
July 11th, 2009 by cyj.butterflyA&F has never been a stranger to discrimination suits; one was recently settled in the US for discrimination during the hiring process in that they would allegedly only hire “young and beautiful” men and women to work in their stores.
Abercrombie & Fitch recently announced it will pull the plug on its RUEHL chain, a concept with 29 stores in high-profile malls across the country that targeted well-heeled consumers in their 20s. Abercrombie blamed “the severe economic downturn” for sinking the stores, which launched in 2004, generating an operating loss of $58 million during the company’s prior fiscal year.
But maybe it’s not just the economy’s fault in this case. REUHL is just another example long line of concepts rolled out by established chains over the last few years that were either closed or abandoned. The lesson here is that some of these retailers might be better off sticking to their core concepts instead of pushing ever more demographic-specific options out to the consumer.
I am not one of those sue-crazy citizens. I think that a lot of the lawsuits nowadays are setups. A lot of people abuse the legal system and look for loopholes to sue over practically everything. I have a family member quite like that and it drives me up the frigging wall. Yet, I hope Riam gets every penny. I hope she triple-sues. I hope after the suit goes through, she receives her requested money and additional funds for pain and suffering. The embarrassment at her treatment by A&F must be immense.
Abercrombie ,Fashion’s soul
July 9th, 2009 by cyj.butterflyAbercrombie and Fitch recently announced it will pull the plug on its RUEHL chain, a concept with 29 stores in high-profile malls across the country that targeted well-heeled consumers in their 20s. Abercrombie blamed “the severe economic downturn” for sinking the stores, which launched in 2004, generating an operating loss of $58 million during the company’s prior fiscal year.
But maybe it’s not just the economy’s fault in this case. REUHL is just another example long line of concepts rolled out by established chains over the last few years that were either closed or abandoned. The lesson here is that some of these retailers might be better off sticking to their core concepts instead of pushing ever more demographic-specific options out to the consumer.
I am not one of those sue-crazy citizens. I think that a lot of the lawsuits nowadays are setups. A lot of people abuse the legal system and look for loopholes to sue over practically everything. I have a family member quite like that and it drives me up the frigging wall. Yet, I hope Riam gets every penny. I hope she triple-sues. I hope after the suit goes through, she receives her requested money and additional funds for pain and suffering. The embarrassment at her treatment by A&F must be immense.
abercrombie sale
Noboday can refuse Abercrombie
July 8th, 2009 by cyj.butterflyJoe abercrombie describes his work as “unheroic fantasy”, a beautifully turned phrase which it’s hard to better if you need to quickly sum up Best Served Cold. Put simply, there are no gallant, selfless or likeable characters in Abercombie’s first standalone novel – yet somehow, you find yourself rooting for many of them. The basic plot, as the title clearly suggests, is a classic quest for revenge, but it’s in the execution, with a gleeful disregard for the ever-growing body count, and in the flawed characters, that Abercrombie’s talent shines.
Riam sucked it up and commenced her stockroom duties, normally reserved for the “underlings” (i.e., ethnic minorities) of Abercrombie & Fitch “society” and received a telephone call at home a few days later, asking if she would continue on board with the company’s stockroom until their winter uniforms came in, which consisted of long-sleeved tops. She quit on the spot.
abercrombie kids
But maybe it’s not just the economy’s fault in this case. REUHL is just another example long line of concepts rolled out by established chains over the last few years that were either closed or abandoned. The lesson here is that some of these retailers might be better off sticking to their core concepts instead of pushing ever more demographic-specific options out to the consumer.
Here, you can find more:abercrombie and fitch
