abercrombie and fitch outlet

Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) announced on Thursday that its same-store sales plummeted 29% in August. These results were worse than the expected drop of 23.9%.

Sales in all of its divisions were worse than expected, with sales at the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship store plunging 26%. Sales dropped 32% at Hollister, 37% at Ruehl (which will close at the year’s end), and 26% at the company’s children’s retail outlet.

ANF is also going to face quite a hurdle with the holiday shopping season approaching. Will parents be willing to drop $85 for a sweater, or nearly $100 for a pair of jeans for their kids? Some will , but I’m guessing that many won’t. The same thing with the back-to-school shopping season — how many parents are willing to pay $35 for a t-shirt because it says Hollister? Again, some will, but I bet many won’t. Will the stock be able to withstand further same-store sales disappointments? We could soon find out.

ANF opened at $31.30 this morning, about 2% lower than Wednesday’s closing price. The biggest danger for the stock is a technical hurdle that it recently cleared but will now have to face again. Shares of the retailer were relying on the support of their 10-month moving average, but this trendline should now be in a position to act as resistance. This fact doesn’t mean that the stock is doomed for failure, but resistance isn’t exactly what ANF can use right now. The stock had actually put together a nice little run starting early in the year, but that could now come to an end.

Teen apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. reports earnings for the fiscal second-quarter quarter on Friday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion related to the period.

OVERVIEW: Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has seen sinking sales amid the recession, as it kept its price points among the highest in the teen sector and waited for a rebound. Over the past few months it has planned more sales and offered lower entry-level prices, but sales are still expected to sink during the quarter ended Aug. 2. Meanwhile, competitors such as Aeropostale Inc. and American Eagle Outfitters Inc., with their emphasis on low prices and basics, have fared better.

Sales in stores open at least on year, or so-called same-store sales, fell 28 percent in July, 32 percent in June and 28 percent in May.

The company said it was shuttering its high-priced Ruehl line of handbags and apparel in a move expected to be complete in January 2010. New Albany, Ohio-based Abercrombie also operates surf-themed Hollister, abercrombie, its store for children, and Gilly Hicks, an intimate apparel line.

BY THE NUMBERS: Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, predict a loss of 7 cents per share on revenue of $647.9 million. The company said, according to a preliminary tally, sales fell 23 percent to $648.5 during the quarter.

An Abercrombie & Fitch store in Virginia Beach, Va. has had it’s racy display photos removed by city police, and its manager was cited for a misdemeanor obscenity charge. The store had two photos of questionable images. One of the photos features three shirtless men, one with butt cleavage sticking out. The other of a woman with one of her breasts almost fully exposed.

Apparently, the city code prohibits the display of “obscene materials in a business that is open to juveniles.” Police say they gave the Abercrombie & Fitch warnings to remove the images after customers complained, but their warnings were ignored. In response to the charges and controversy, Abercrombie released the following statement:

“The marketing images in question show less skin than you see any summer day at the beach. And certainly less than the plumber working on your kitchen sink.”

The company plans to pursue its legal rights aggressively, while the manager of the store faces a fine of up to $2000 and a year in jail.