The Rise And Fall Of Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries is stepping down from the teen retailer following a rocky few years.It's the latest upheaval for the brand, whichstarted as a store for outdoorsmen and evolved into the epitome of preppy cool in the '90s.More recently, Abercrombie has been criticized for excluding large womenand promoting unrealistic standards of beauty.The retailer has suffered 11 straight quarters of same-store sales declinesas alternative fashion trends have superseded Abercrombie's sporty, logo-heavy look.Michael Thrasher wrote the original version of this story. Hayley Peterson, Ashley Lutz, and Julie Zeveloff contributed to this story.A&F started as a store for outdoorsmen.David T. Abercrombie founded the waterfront company at South Street in Manhattan in 1892. Itsold hunting and fishing equipment and was called Abercrombie Co.A few years later, Ezra Fitch, a high-profile lawyer and regular customer, purchased a large share of the growing company. In 1906, when he was officially named a co-founder, the store was renamed Abercrombie & Fitch.Abercrombie wanted to continue to provide outdoor gear while Fitch had a greater interest in the general retail so the two eventually parted ways.It eventually grew into a department store on NYC's Madison Avenue.Abercrombie sold his share of the company in 1907, enabling Ezra to achieve his goal of expanding the store's general retail. A&F started a mail-order catalogue and opened a 12-story location on Madison Avenue in New York City.The department store had a shooting range and golf school in addition to sporting goods and apparel.In 1910, it became the first retail store to sell both men's and women's clothing.In 1939, A&F branded itself "the greatest sporting goods store in the world."Abercrombie & Fitch was the official outfitter of Charles Lindbergh's historic flight across the Atlantic in 1927.Earnest Hemingway and Teddy Roosevelt were also patrons of the store.See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Click here to read full news..