But now? Gap and Abercrombie, we are so over you!
Amey Stone and I were IM-ing, trying to figure out why this was. We had lots of ideas, firstly, as Amey said, "maybe it's those half-naked men standing in the doorway that are scaring off mothers with young children." This makes sense on a lot of levels. When I was a college kid, the half-naked men were the perfect sex symbol. But the target audience for these clothes has gotten both younger (12- and 13-year-old girls instead of college kids), and older (moms like Amey and me who used to be hot for the half-naked). If the younger set are shopping, in today's increasingly protective culture, they're doing it with mom -- and mom isn't about to bring her 12-year-old into a store that clearly sells sex alongside the sweaters.
As for the older set, we moms with two or three very young children? The last thing we want to see is a half-naked man, even if he's exceptionally cute. Let's be frank. Our libidos are 1/10th of their normal selves thanks to the hormones involved in child-rearing. We'll stick with the J. Crews and the safe boutiques, with the cute little frog umbrellas and not the clothes that make our eight-year-olds look like they're trying out for America's Next Top Swimsuit Model.
Whether or not my analysis is correct (but of course it is!), it's clear The Gap and Abercrombie & Fitch are faltering. Gap has been struggling in the sales department for, what, nearly a decade now? And this season is no better than any other. Gap's sales for November were down a truly awful 8%, with Abercrombie's sales a slightly-less awful negative 3% for November. Maybe it's as retail analyst Mark Montagna said (quoted in this Wall Street Journal article, subscription required), "optimism that conflicts with reality" -- out-of-date merchandise sold at a discount by unfailingly optimistic leaders.
Out-of-date, and poor quality. It seems that Gap clothes don't have the same staying power as in high school. I'm a frequent thrift shopper, and by far the most beat up of the clothes on the piles are Gap and Old Navy options -- even Carter's clothing, the low-priced department store standby, are in better shape by the time they make it to the racks. Amey says that she can find cheaper, cuter options at non-chain boutiques. I say I hate the feel of Gap now that my entire high school class isn't thronging the circular racks.
Gap and Abercrombie need to find a marketing strategy and a fashion sense -- the ones they have are sorely lost in the woods.
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