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Before, Abercrombie was an outdoor supply company. The movement into generation-focused apparel was a pivot. They didn't make the next pivot to maintain. I thi
by Cd00d 4y ago
Before, Abercrombie was an outdoor supply company.
The movement into generation-focused apparel was a pivot. They didn't make the next pivot to maintain. I think most companies need to continuously evolve.
- andrew_ 4y agoForever21 has been pretty much forever Forever21
- ilikehurdles 4y agoAnd it went through bankruptcy in 2019 to forever be that.
- Certified 4y agoIn M*A*S*H Season 7, Episode 6 "None Like it Hot" from Oct 23, 1978, Hawkeye and B.J. purchase a bathtub from Abercrombie and Fitch
- 231078 4y ago(using a throwaway account) that's the day I was born!
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- ghaff 4y agoit had at least one previous pivot. The original was a high-end hunting and fishing store. Then they got bought by Oshman's Sporting Goods. I think I was once in a store from that era. Sort of mid+ range outdoor gear, home furnishings, etc.
- thazework 4y agoYeah, I recall being quite taken a back, initially, when a Hemingway profile mentioned his A&F spree.
- ghaff 4y agoA long time ago I read a book In Search of LL Bean that talked about the old A&F. Apparently their Manhattan (I think) store had a gunsmith on premises and carried fly fishing lures that were apparently as specific as this type of fish, in this river, during this month.
- vgeek 4y agoThis is apparently the lifecycle of outdoor fishing brands. Orvis (100+ yr old fly fishing company) places more emphasis on clothes than fly rods, flies and waders-- the margins and addressable market are probably both larger. Field and Stream is Dick's spinoff to target outdoors customers, and they typically dedicate 70% of floorspace to clothes, too.
- ghaff 4y agoPretty much. Not a fisherman but Orvis is better than most. But they're also still family-owned. REI is also probably better than most but they're a co-op. But even in those cases they're pretty mass-market oriented which is pretty inevitable unless you're mostly niche mail order. REI doesn't stay in business and support a broad retail network selling climbing ropes and carabiners.
- Cd00d 4y agoMy father managed an Eddie Bauer flagship in the 70s, and they sold shotguns and climbing gear, as well as camping and fishing equipment. He considered A&F their primary competitor, which is how I learned that history.