Association Profile: Abercrombie & Fitch Co
- Name of the Association: Abercrombie & Fitch Co
- Industry: Trade (Specialty Apparel and Accessories)
- Transitory History
It was established in 1892 by businesspeople David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch in New York City. It was initially dedicated to outdoor clothing, nature equipment, and expedition equipment for travelers and adventurers. During the late 20th century, it focused on generating caché casual wear with an expanded product range within the consumer demand dynamic. Abercrombie & Fitch Co., a retail specialty shop headquartered in New York City, was founded in the late 1800s by David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch. The first step towards the company’s positive renown was establishing a firm that sold the best outdoor and expedition goods category to adventurers and outdoor enthusiasts. Abercrombie &Fitch Co. has changed the items and positions it offers in the marketplace over the years. The firm realized that the need for change was natural since it espied that developing changes guided by changing consumer requirements and store contexts was inevitable. Consequently, towards the end of the 20th century, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. began to sell stylish leisure clothing to tourists other than keen outdoor fanatics.
This precisely calculated shift from the target market and product offering Abercrombie & Fitch Co. went up to the number one spot in retail. The company attracted younger customers who desired such clothes and apparel by redirecting their efforts to fashionable and contemporary accessories. Specializing in apparel and accessories, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is a well-known name in the specialty apparel and accessories retail industry because of its distinctive brand and compliance with producing high-quality products that meet the demands of its intended consumers. Despite its evolution, the will of the company’s history and heritage to dictate its every move in the competitive retail sector remains.
Brief History:
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is a company engaged in the specialized retail business of apparel and accessories established in 1892, showing a long development period. Its creation originated in New York City at the hands of David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch, interested in providing quality outdoor wear for explorers and adventurers. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was founded to dominate manufacturing high-quality outdoor devices, which was associated with a significant innovative edge. The Company’sCompany’s products were rugged, functional, and sanely manufactured for rough outdoor environments. Hence, A&F BC rapidly created a customer base and a significant status within the outdoor enthusiast community. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. understood that retail and consumer influences are changing and require that they restructure their business plan accordingly to remain competitive. Such actions transformed the company into a strategic shift that was the interest and what it had to offer. Abercrombie & Fitch Co., in the late twentieth century, moved from outdoor’ equipment to high-class casual clothing. This was a critical strategic move since the firm wanted to capitalize on the fashion trend and target people other than outdoor enthusiasts. The retail business was re-positioned by targeting upscale casual attire by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. (F., 2023). A&F is a headquarters based in Columbus, Ohio, owned by Abercrombie & Fitch Co. This Company mainly operates in the Australian and North American Markets in which they are engaged. Fashion enterprises realized that urban adolescents were getting increasingly fashionable clothing and accessories. Through its expertise in the value of quality craftsmanship and design, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. created a product line of ingenious and pleasant clothes for the needs and desires of the target consumer.
By embracing this strategic shift in the late 20th century and beyond, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. grew and thrived. The brand was seen everywhere, and the number of purchasers soared as consumers took the sophisticated casual wear after their hearts; this consolidated the brand’s position as the leader in retail. Abercrombie and Co. is named for having a fashion legend regarding the finest clothing and accessories. The company’s successful transformation from a manufacturer of outdoor commodities to an international lifestyle chain proves its elasticity to changes in consumer needs and the competitive environment.
Milestones:
Due to the intellectual modifications, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. developed into a world giant retail chain. Primarily, in 1892, two people, David T. Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch, founded Abercrombie & Fitch in New York City. From the beginning, the company sold outdoor apparel and the necessary equipment for the expeditions, and gradually, explorers and adventurers trusted the name. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. moved a topic and services during the second part of the twentieth century. The company intentionally relocated to more high-end casual clothing to accommodate the changing consumers’ needs. Despite that, with the strategic decision, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was able to extend the target market base from what was previously occupied by only outdoors enthusiasts and was able to benefit from the emerging fashion trends (Marek, 2023). However, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has only recently established brand subsidiaries and gone global. The CompanyCompany has become a global retail giant with a significant footprint in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. The various brand subsidiaries of Abercrombie and Fitch Company, including the Hollister and Gilly Hicks, offer a wide range of clothing, accessories, and various personal care products offer to suit different customers’ needs and lifestyles.
Additional Resources:
Apart from these primary sources of data, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. also has a variety of secondary data sources such as government publications, marketing materials, and related articles in news and journals, which could help the organization better its comprehension of the competitive environment, patterns, and strategic openings in the market.
Complete Business Source: The SWOT analyses represented in this database are highly comprehensive, comprising evaluations focused on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of multiple companies belonging to various industries. Therefore, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. can acquire details about the market positioning of the competitors, strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats through access to the competitor’s SWOT analysis and that of the competitors in the industry. Analyzing these SWOT analyses, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. may find the opportunity for strategic focus and differentiation, which will help it retain its standing in the competitive environment.
Gale Business: SWOT Analysis – Insights – Gale Business: Insights performs SWOT analysis similar to Business Source Complete. Research such as this, giving keen insight into firms’ internal capabilities and external market factors, allows Abercrombie & Fitch Co. to evaluate the situation with its competitors and strategic opportunities. Applying these SWOT analyses, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. may thus formulate an effective action plan that will enable it to pursue promising opportunities and keep the potential competitors away from the market.
The website of the CompanyCompany (www.abercrombie.com), one of the locations easily accessible for people and provides the latest information concerning the products, services, and business investments of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., is its official website. Through reference to the company’s website, stakeholders can attain information regarding Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s lines of marketing, innovations, and brand image. Besides exploiting its website as a channel for customer contact and feedback collection and demonstrating its concern for sustainability and social responsibility, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. might boost its brand credibility and contact engagement.
Industry Journals and Publications: Based on trade magazines and industry-specific to Abercrombie & Fitch Co, market trends can be learned, as well as the nature of consumer behavior and emerging technologies for retailing. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. should continue receiving updates on recent developments in the retail trade by periodically reading trade journals and periodicals that reveal the recent changes regarding consumer preferences, technological changes, and regulations (Matuschek et al., 2019). Abercrombie & Fitch Co. may maintain its competitive position preemptively by using this knowledge to guide its strategic managerial decision-making.
Unique Business Opportunity:
The Abercrombie & Fitch Co. can profit from the green design market by widening its product lines and material landscape, primarily through its suppliers. This particular source of commercial potential corresponding to consumer demands concerning environmentally friendly products may aid Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in becoming a standout in the retail business. Sustainable chain management involves several vital stages. First, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. could focus on eco fibers, recycled polyester, and fairly traded organic cotton. Through sustainable partnerships with sustainable suppliers, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. could minimize its footprint. Abercrombie & Fitch Co., cutting waste emissions in its operations may boost sustainability. Waste can be reduced using energy-efficient distribution and storage plants, packaging optimization, and renewable energy sources.
Sustainable fashion needs transparency and accountability. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. may make its product sustainability practices public, which can lead to a higher transparency rate. Acquiring such know-how could position data on environmental considerations related to its materials and production processes and certificates regarding trade or organic products. As the interest of consumers in green products and sustainability in fashion increases, demand for sustainable products from Abercrombie & Fitch Co. may grow, Islam et al., 2021). It can be sustainability advertising campaigns, awareness campaigns that will be conducted on social media and other channels, and even include data that will be provided to the consumer; that way, he or she will make better choices.
Management Function Required:
As discussed above, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. requires strategic management to evolve into the sustainable fashion industry. Strategic management has to be planned and implemented all the same to be able to achieve sustainable integration into a business model. Abercrombie & Fitch Company’s sustainable fashion development correlates with strategic management principles aligning with the company’s mission. It comprises several vital components. Along with achieving business objectives, the end of exploiting strategic management enables change to the sustainability practices of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. from the vision and mission of the Company Company. Sustainable operations aid in improving a corporation’s reputation and attracting environmentalists among the customers through a commitment to social responsibility and ecological concern. Also, environmental analysis involves the issues of sustainable fashion analysis as a strategic management tool to find opportunities and limits. it includes analyzing consumer tastes, regulations, trends for sustainable fashion, and competition. Opportunities and risks can accompany the analysis of such aspects of the outside world as Abercrombie & Fitch Co. may seize and avoid those tendencies by analyzing the outside world. Strategic management oversees goal-setting and plan development as part of the Abercrombie & Fitch Co’s sustainability initiatives. This involves setting quantitive sustainability targets like controlling waste, cab, and emissions and purchasing products. Such goals may help the firm integrate sustainable practices in the supply chain, operations, and product line.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co’s sustainability initiatives are also reinforced by strategic management as it allocates resources. Sustainable initiatives such as recycling, investing in alternative energy, and staff sustainability training require financial, human, and technological resources. The CompanyCompany can effectively implement its sustainability strategy in the market through the proper resource alignment to strategic goals. The implementation of the Abercrombie & Fitch Co. sustainability development is the ultimate aim of strategic management. It takes KPIs to monitor different environmental metrics, including energy usage, garbage reduction, and carbon footprint. Regular evaluation is accompanied by being able to measure and change sustainability initiatives to achieve the goal that is set to be fulfilled. Having enunciated the need for a strategic decision, a strategic manager is needed in the event of Abercrombie & Fitch Co. including sustainability in its business strategies. It requires the company to formulate and implement an all-round sustainability strategy to show the social and environment-related responsibilities and generate long-term benefits for the stakeholders.
Conclusion
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. propels the cloth industry towards sustainability. Thus, strategic management assisted sustainable growth as operations were integrated with environmental and social responsibilities. Abercrombie & Fitch Co. aspires to satisfy the increasing need for eco-friendly products and reputations among environmentalists through sustainable supply chain approaches. Our strategic plan emphasizes the setting of targets for sustainability, conducting environmental assessments, appropriately allocating resources, monitoring performance through key performance indicators, and the correlation of sustainability programs to vision and mission. The measured measures enable Abercrombie & Fitch Co. to develop and implement a sustainability plan that minimizes environmental impact while building long-term values.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s d sustainable fashion development makes growth and innovation possible in the competitive retail market. With a well-recognized global presence, the company can become the leader in sustainable fashions that would attract environmentally friendly people and create a spot of difference from the competition.
References
- (2023, October 4). Abercrombie & Fitch: When was it founded? Know is its history and journey. The Economic Times. https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/international/us/abercrombie-fitch-when-was-it-founded-know-is-its-history-and-journey/articleshow/104146670.cms?from=mdr
Marek, A. (2023). Jung, cool und sexy–Noch immer am Puls der Zeit?: Sexismus als Marketingstrategie am Beispiel von Abercrombie & Fitch (Doctoral dissertation). https://monami.hs-mittweida.de/frontdoor/deliver/index/docId/14654/file/BA_53361_Ana-Marek_geschwaerzt.pdf
Matuschek, A., Beukmann, U., Furin, I., Pistorius, C., & Lawlor, B. (2019). ABERCROMBIE & FITCH: HOW A CEO CAN WRECK A BRAND IN ONE INTERVIEW. Southeast Case Research Journal, 16(1), 40-61. https://secrj-ojs-shsu.tdl.org/secrj/article/view/52
Islam, M. M., Perry, P., & Gill, S. (2021). Mapping environmentally sustainable practices in textiles, apparel and fashion industries: a systematic literature review. Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal, 25(2), 331-353. https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/JFMM-07-2020-0130/full/html
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