Abercrombie and Fitch Got It Right

Okay, so Abercrombie and Fitch has been in the news lately because of things their CEO has said about the kind of customers they want.  Their CEO, Mike Jeffries stated, “We go after the cool kids.  A lot of people don’t belong and they can’t belong.  Are we exclusionary?  Absolutely.”  By the way, did you know that he originally said this in a 2006 interview?  Only now has it gone viral.  Now, in response to the viral words of A&F’s CEO, a man by the name of Greg Karber wants to re-brand A&F by giving away their clothes to the homeless. 

Maybe I’m going to come off sounding like the bad guy here, but I think A&F has it right.  Here’s why. 

1.       First of all, they very clearly know who their target market is.  A&F has always been an elite brand.  They had decided a long time ago that their target market is the “cool kids” and that doesn’t include anyone over a size ten.  As a successful business, you can’t be everything to everybody.  A&F knows EXACTLY who their customers are and they should keep it that way.

2.       We often complain that companies are being shady or aren’t being transparent.  A&F is being completely transparent and we’re giving them crap for it!  They aren’t hiding anything and are unapologetic in their stance.  I say, good for them for being honest and true to their beliefs.  They’re not afraid to tell it like it is and they’re not just a voice hiding behind a logo.  If you want companies to be more open, don’t bash them when they do. 

3.       They insist on hiring only attractive people.  I hate to say it, but attractive people have better employment rates to begin with.  You would think that in this day and age, everyone would have equal opportunity to have a job they are qualified for.  That is not always the reality though.  Check out these articles from Workopolis that point to some of the ways more attractive people get ahead in their careers.

http://www.workopolis.com/content/advice/article/353-can-you-be-too-attractive-to-get-hired

http://www.workopolis.com/content/advice/article/2098-five-unfair-ways-that-people-make-more-money

What I’m saying here is that A&F is not the only company to hire more attractive people.  And really, when you think about it, every company uses models in their advertising.  If A&F only hires attractive people, they’ve got built in models right inside the company.

4.       All of the PR that A&F has received has probably done more for their brand awareness than any paid campaign they’ve ever done.  All of a sudden everyone knows who A&F is.  You may not agree with their ideas or you may not ever buy any of their stuff, but you certainly know who they are.

 

5.       So, going back to this initiative to donate the A&F clothes to the homeless.  I like the idea of donating clothing to people in need, but frankly do you really think a homeless guy is going to care about the brand name on the shirt that he just received?  No way.  He’s just happy that he has something clean to wear.  And I really don’t think other people pay much attention to what homeless people are wearing either.  If you walked by a homeless person on the street, would you notice if his shirt is from A&F?  Not likely.  So, trying to re-brand A&F by giving the clothing to the homeless is not really going to do much good.  Please, go ahead and donate your clothing to the less fortunate, whether it’s A&F or not.

 

I’m not saying that Mr. Jeffries is a great guy.  Heck, I’ve never met him and likely never will.  What I’m saying is that he might have chosen his words a little more carefully and frankly he does come across as offensive.  However, don’t bash the guy for something he said 7 years ago, especially when the company is just doing what it does best… effective target marketing.  You don’t have to agree with the company’s decisions and you don’t need to buy any of their products.  Just understand that from a marketing stand point, they got it right…  a defined target audience and free PR.  Exactly what every business should be doing.