Have you ever been inside a store and felt like you didn't belong? As if the employees and the customers themselves are advertising for a different group of people? Well if you were to go inside the well known clothing store, "Abercrombie and Fitch", that's exactly how you might feel. For those of you who aren't aware, this store sells sizes XS(00)-L(10) in women's tops or dresses, XS(000)-L(12) in women's bottoms, S-XXL in men's tops and XS-XL in men's bottoms.Now if you can't see what's wrong with those sizes, I'll tell you. Most clothing stores go up to XXL in women's tops and bottoms, so why is it that Abercrombie and Fitch doesn't want go with the norm?Well the CEO of Abercrombie and Fitch, Mike Jeffries, stated in an interview with Salon, dated back to 2006, that "in every school there are the cool and popular kids, then there are the not-so-cool kids. 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." Now, the company is allowed to do what they want in their store and target to whatever audience they please but, the two of Abercrombie and Fitch's biggest competitors, H&M and American Eagle, both offer XXL sizes for both men and women. By Jeffries saying, "Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody," is wrong because H&M and American Eagle have broadened their target customers and at the end of the day are making more people satisfied than Abercrombie and Fitch.
Now, going back to the sizes Abercrombie and Fitch offers, you can clearly see that women have a much smaller size choice than men. Why is that? Well Robin Lewis who is author "The New Rules of Retail" said that it is because Abercrombie and Fitch are trying to target large, built athletes and do not endorse obesity whatsoever. Lewis also mentioned the kind of people Jeffries wants advertising his brand. He said, "He doesn't want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people. He doesn't want his core customers to see people who aren't as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like one of the "cool kids." Now this story became big back in May earlier this year and it did not do well for the company of Abercrombie and Fitch. Some people, such as celebrities including Miley Cyrus, Ellen Degeneres and Kritie Alley began to boycott the company because of the accusations that it was discriminating it's overweight customers. Other made a petition online telling the retailer to "stop telling teens they aren't beautiful; make clothes for teens of all sizes" which in turn gained over 80,000 signatures. Actions like these are what made sales for the store go down to the point where they decided that they start should start selling larger sizes. It is said that the company are planning an expanded range of products to help profits rise and want to begin offering different colors and even add a shoe line in hopes that it will lure young shoppers back into the store. Finally, here is the" apology" note Jeffries wrote:
A note from Mike, our CEO:
I want to address some of my comments that have been circulating from a 2006 interview. While I believe this 7 year old, resurrected quote has been taken out of context, I sincerely regret that my choice of words was interpreted in a manner that has caused offense. A&F is an aspirational brand that, like most specialty apparel brands, targets its marketing at a particular segment of customers. However, we care about the broader communities in which we operate and are strongly committed to diversity and inclusion. We hire good people who share these values. We are completely opposed to any discrimination, bullying, derogatory characterizations or other anti-social behavior based on race, gender, body type or other individual characteristics.
Questions
Do you agree with what Mike Jeffries said about the kind of customers he wants in his store? Why or Why not?
As a teenager, how would you feel if someone said you couldn't shop at a certain store because of your size and looks?
What do you think of Abercrombie and Fitch's idea of beginning to sell larger sizes now?
After reading Jeffries' "apology" letter, do you think he was being sincere? Or was he just trying to make himself and the company look good?
Jeffrie's apology letter was definitely less sincere and more strategic. I'm positive he honestly thought the public would accept his statement and not see anything wrong. Jeffrie's mentality proves that the media has completely brainwashed some people into thinking that judging (and excluding) someone based solely on their appearance is totally acceptable. Not everyone has chiselled cheek bones, model curves or perfect skin, and that's okay! We all have different traits and quirks that make us who we are. It's important to realize that we need to filter the various media texts we consume on a day to day basis, because it can all add up to having a skewed mentality of the world we live in.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you Rebecca, people like Jeffries are the reason we have young people who become sick because they try to reach the "standard" size of what women or men should look like.
DeleteMike Jeffries idea of having only "Attractive People," shop at his store is not such a bad idea. In fact, he should be applauded for his intentions! It is his designs and his company so he should be able to sell his clothes to whoever he wants. If people do not like his mentality then they should just not buy his clothes and move on to the next store. I do not understand why they have to boycott and ruin his business. If other people agrees that his mentality is terrible then he would eventually lose business, but let them do that because of their own decision, and let the man sell his clothes to whoever he wants.
ReplyDeleteI'd have to agree, there are plenty of other different, great brands out there. Alot of the people boycotting this, maybe offended that they don't fit his standards and in turn are trying to lower them.
DeleteYou do have a good point and I did mention that in my post, I said "the company is allowed to do what they want in their store and target to whatever audience they please." However, you say that people who do not like his mentality should move on to another store but then you say, "I do not understand why they have to boycott and ruin his business." The reason these people are bouycotting is because they don't agree with his mentality and are refusing to buy from his store, which is something they have the right to do.
DeleteIt's true that they have the right to boycott him, but think about it like this. People also have the right to commit suicide. Does that make it okay?
DeleteJust because someone has the right to do whatever, does not mean that whatever they are doing is okay. If his intentions are not working for the business, then let it not work. All I am saying is that let the customers decide that on themselves, there is no need to talk bad about his store. If other people agrees, that what he is doing is not good then let them come to this conclusion them self, not forcing someone's else idea on another .
I agree but I could say the same to you. He targeted a specific audience and insulted another. He didn't have to say those rude things but he did and like you said, "Just because someone has the right to do whatever, does not mean that whatever they are doing is okay." And if you think about it, he is forcing his ideas on others. By targeting a specific audience, he's saying that this is what cool looks like and this is what uncool looks like. Those who categorize in the "cool" group would look down on the "uncool" people and this is were the issues lie.
DeleteI actually agree with Steven here. As much as what Jeffrie said was indeed rude, it is still his company and what he chooses to carry is his decision. If he only aims at stereotypical beautiful people then whoever is unable to shop at his store is only causing him a loss. I don't feel as though his apology was sincere, as Rebecca said, it was more strategic. He probably only apologized because his sales went down after his little speech. Also as teenagers, we are smart enough to not be pulled down by what 'some' people claim to be accepted. We should be able to deconstruct these situation and use the right lenses to objectively lets petty comments slide off our shoulders.
ReplyDeleteSteven did make a good point and I did mention that in my post that Jeffries can do whatever he wants with his store. However the reason it bothers me is because you have people out there who might not be so "smart" and suffer from depression because they don't fit the stereotypical standards of being "skinny." There are a lot of people, especially women who become bullimic or anorexic because they themselves do not feel pretty because of certain's people view of beautiful people. This is the only reason what he did really bothers me but apart from that I could careless what he does, I personally don't shop there. It's too fancy and flashy for my taste not to mention expensive!
DeleteI agree with Steven too. If Mike Jeffries's wants to exclude customers he considers uncool, unattractive and fat he has the right to do so. Considering many other stores do the same thing, but the only difference is the CEO’s don’t go admitting it to the media, but surely imply their message in their establishments. So far, the whole act of Mike doing it, has worked. Many people associate those who wear Abercrombie and Fitch clothes as being cool, teens tend to have at least some of their clothing, and you tend to see the popular kids in high schools wearing this brand.
ReplyDeletePersonally, there are plenty of places I can't shop at because of my look and size. I wouldn't think to boycott these businesses or hate the store; I just see it as me not being a part of their targeted audience. Now that Abercrombie and Fitch is selling larger sizes, I think they took this approach because of the backlash the received, and not because the CEO truly found what he had been doing before as wrong or offensive. That being said, I don't believe Jeffrie's apology is sincere. I think Jeffries is truly just trying to make his company look good and bring up his sales, since they went down after the scandal. To Jeffries, what really matters at the end of the day is money. Nice post Monica!
-Lydia
I totally agree, I did say he can sell and advertise to whoever he wants but I still think there should be a line of respect. Other companies could be allowed to do the same as Jeffries but once they public their reasoning like he did then he should expect people being angry.
DeleteAs a teenager or even as a person, if someone told me I couldnt shop at their store because of my size or looks, I would seriously want to punch them in their face.... but ofcourse i wouldnt. Honestly, it would hurt a lot if someone did say that. We all come in different sizes, different race, cultural, looks and etc. If we were all the same wouldnt it be boring to look at all the time. like really? How many Dharshiga's would you like to see? everyone should be happy with how they come about. No one is perfect and no one will ever be, its how we feel and how we show ourselves out that would make us who we are. So no one should listen to anyone that puts them down, cause everyone beautiful the way they are. :)
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you, I think it's our differences that make the world the way it is and people should be happy with what they look like and shouldn't listen to the negative comments.
DeleteMike Jeffries has the right to allow whomever he pleases into his stores because at the end of the day he is the one who is losing costumers. If i can't shop in this overpriced outlet for terrible quality clothes, i can just shop in the one next door. But what makes no sense is how someone determines whether or not someone is attractive enough. I think Mike Jeffries is just doing this for publicity/
ReplyDeleteI definetly agree, Ramoos. I personally don't care much for this store but its what he said and his views of who is and who isn't attractive that really annoys me.
DeleteI would feel mad, embarrassed and humiliated if someone said that. And I had experience once. I was shopping for a formal dress. As I walked into the store, the girl that works there told me that my cup is too small in order to fit into their dress. And from then, I never walk into that shop. Anyway , I think he is just trying to make himself and the company look good. Because if you heard about their job interview, you will know that they only look for a person with good looking (guy), pretty, skinny with nature hair color ( girl).
ReplyDeleteI'm so sorry you had that kind of service, I can only assume how embarassing that was. I don't think people like him realise that their words hurt and sometimes can really affect a someones self-esteem.
DeleteIf I were told that I wasn't able to shop in a particular store because of the way I appear, I would be very offended and feel unaccepted. I don't believe its right to stop people from shopping in certain stores because of the way they look. I believe the reason why stores would do this is because they want good looking people wearing and promoting their products. Brand name stores such as Abercrombie and Fitch, beginning to sell large sized clothing is a good way to include people and get more sales. Other stores should follow in there marketing idea.
ReplyDelete