We've all heard the name, Abercrombie and Fitch and in recent years Abercrombie and Fitch have begun their British invasion with the opening of a flagship store on Savile Row.Famed for its ridiculously 'American' and 'preppy' style the brand has come under fire quite a lot in the past and recent comments made by the companies CEO have shook the boat once again. If you've ever gone in to an Abercrombie store you'll notice how all the shop assistants are either young, slim, beautiful girls or typically handsome and muscular males, it seems that there is an 'Abercrombie look'. They have come under fire for hiring generally caucasian male applicants and ignoring the minorities. Moreover a few days ago they hit headlines again in France for discrimination in appearance when hiring applicants.
Moreover, in 2009 a law student who was born without a left forearm was accepted to work for the Savile Row store but was then asked to work in the stock room as her appearance breached the companies 'looks policy' ridiculous huh? How can a brand shamelessly have a 'looks policy' how arrogant can you get? The 'looks policy' has also jeopardised careers for several Muslims who have been told to remove their Hijab's when working. Moreover one store refused to let a teenage girl help her Autistic sister try on clothes in the fitting room. Its disgusting how the company feel they can treat their customers and employees in such a way.
CEO Mike Jefferies made controversial comments about their clientele saying he wants the brand to cater to the 'thin and cool' he went on further to say they hire 'good looking' people as it attracts other 'good looking' people and they want to market to 'cool, good looking people' bit of a shocking and outrageous comment to make and one which certainly alienates customers who don't think they fit in to the 'thin and cool' demographic. Its all quite ironic as Jeffries isn't much of a looker himself. Im not an Abercrombie fan but after these comments I'm sure I wouldn't want to shop there, unless I thought very highly of myself. Moreover the company announced Friday its first quarter earnings, which fell drastically short of Wall Street's expectations - according to the company, its first-quarter sales in the U.S. fell by 17 percent, which many are crediting to offensive comments made by Jeffries. 
Another recent controversy to hit the new stands was due to one of their print tees. The t shirt in question carried the quote '#more boyfriends than t.s' referencing american pop star Taylor Swift. Swift has come under fire for her many male companions and Abercrombie no doubt thought this tongue in cheek quote would be a hit, however Swifts large teenage following found the T-shirt to be highly offensive and were up in arms, eventually forcing the brand to pull the design from its stores. So can Abercrombie do anything right? Both Abercrombie and its sister brand Hollister have been criticised over the years and its starting to push peoples limits, especially here in Britain where the average woman size is a 16. It seems to me that Abercrombie is the only person ruining their own reputation, one that they try very hard to uphold, if they carry on this way they could be meeting a sticky end very soon.
Blogger Jess Baker was outraged by Jeffries comments so created this mock photoshoot
