Abercrombie & Fitch or a&F: the Greatest Environmental Threats That Have Immediate Implications for a&F
Abercrombie & Fitch
By
E-mail: Lorettadavis49@ yahoo.com
For
Dr. Anthony Grady
Business 499, Senior Seminar in Business Administration
Strayer University
February 12, 2010
1. Identify and describe the greatest environmental threats that have immediate implications for A&F.
The greatest environmental threats that have immediate implications for A&F were the fact that they limited their clientele by focus on the one particular audience. Their target is on young sorority and fraternity consumers. Teenagers are they primary target market. It is evident in their décor. There are mural of muscular skin-showing rope climber” around the stores (Hitts, el al, 2009), p 25. The web site depicts the image of young teenagers scarcely clad frolicking across the beach front. This company is known for their discretionary required appearance. The employees are an image of their targeted customer which is 18-21 years of age (Hitts, el al, 2009). The company has established a strict dress code or “Look Policy” that requires the employee to look the part. They even go so far as to dictating what color fingernail polish and makeup the sales associate can wear. According to the CEO, Michael Jeffries (2007), “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids," he says. "Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don't alienate anybody, but you don't excite anybody, either."(Cowan, Para 3). People that apply for positions that do not have the potential look are denied a position or forced to work in areas out of the public view for example the stock room. Once this information is public knowledge it
By
E-mail: Lorettadavis49@ yahoo.com
For
Dr. Anthony Grady
Business 499, Senior Seminar in Business Administration
Strayer University
February 12, 2010
1. Identify and describe the greatest environmental threats that have immediate implications for A&F.
The greatest environmental threats that have immediate implications for A&F were the fact that they limited their clientele by focus on the one particular audience. Their target is on young sorority and fraternity consumers. Teenagers are they primary target market. It is evident in their décor. There are mural of muscular skin-showing rope climber” around the stores (Hitts, el al, 2009), p 25. The web site depicts the image of young teenagers scarcely clad frolicking across the beach front. This company is known for their discretionary required appearance. The employees are an image of their targeted customer which is 18-21 years of age (Hitts, el al, 2009). The company has established a strict dress code or “Look Policy” that requires the employee to look the part. They even go so far as to dictating what color fingernail polish and makeup the sales associate can wear. According to the CEO, Michael Jeffries (2007), “In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids," he says. "Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don't alienate anybody, but you don't excite anybody, either."(Cowan, Para 3). People that apply for positions that do not have the potential look are denied a position or forced to work in areas out of the public view for example the stock room. Once this information is public knowledge it