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Ooh la la! Fans of the old-school Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) catalog have something to giggle about. After seven long years, the risque quarterly featuring scantily clad young adults is being reinstated. And even though the catalog is ostensibly just marketing itself -- advertising the clothes that the models are barely wearing -- it will cost you $10 (it is available for pre-order now at the Abercrombie website and will hit shelves July 17). When the recession hit and allowances dried up, ANF suffered even more than most of its peers as teens and young adults offered for similarly trendy fashion at cheaper prices, turning to the Gap's (GPS) Old Navy, Aeropostale (ARO), and American Eagle (AEO) as substitutes. After months of resistance (or denial), ANF finally cut the prices on some items, but it is still facing lackluster sales and revenue numbers. The shares, meanwhile, are down 50% over the last two years.
From September 2008 through January 2010, the retailer consistently suffered a double-digit drop in monthly same-store sales, the worst of which was April 2009, when the reading dropped 34%. So far this year, through June, sales are down 11% on average (but managed to move higher in February, March, and April, the first consecutive three-month advance since the credit crisis began). But though things may be on the upswing competition remains fierce, so ANF is bringing, as Justin Timberlake would say, sexy back.
The catalog was shelved in 2003 after a modest public outcry about indecency but the company is re-introducing it as part of its back-to-school campaign. The theme for the catalog is a "VIP backstage pass" to an ANF screen test. Here's hoping the "backstage pass" is more Justin Bieber and less Led Zeppelin.
But wait a minute ... isn't this 2010? Don't people get their lascivious pictures on the Internet ... for free? Will the catalog really help boost ANF sales? Or will it be a failed attempt at nostalgia that gets the company back in hot water with conservative critics? (The first two questions were rhetorical).
Beth is senior editor for The Options News Network (www.ONN.tv), which provides daily stock and options commentary. The above comments are not intended as trading advice.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
6-29-2010 @ 11:38AM
Cooper said...
Clearly this article was written by a girl barely out of college. . . "Here's hoping the (catalog) is more Justin Bieber and less Led Zeppelin?"
6-29-2010 @ 11:46AM
Fred said...
Pretty typical. Almost everything on AOL is written by very biased, very young, very inexperienced people. Sometimes, it's so embarrassing that you can't read it.
6-29-2010 @ 10:54PM
Barrel Bottom said...
Well, she IS a "senior" editor. How else to explain that "offered" in the second paragraph when, perhaps, she meant to write "opted"? That's the best I could puzzle it through, at any rate. And isn't that what we want from our "news" stories? Puzzles and cryptograms to solve. Like this gem: "But though things may be on the upswing competition remains fierce, so ANF is bringing, as Justin Timberlake would say, sexy back." Yessirree, Bob, THAT's some mighty fine writing! "Senior editor." Good God.