Abercrombie and Fitch

Hollister has secured a 8,200-ft2 store at Victoria Square, joining names such as Cruise, Ted Baker, Reiss, Firetrap, All Saints, Urban Outfitters, Top Shop, River Island, H&M and Levis. Multi Development, who developed Victoria Square, recently announced that Kurt Geiger and the new denim brand J Four, have also signed for stores within the 850,000-ft2 scheme anchored by House of Fraser. Multi Development UK’s Director of Leasing, Stuart Harris said, “Signing the first Hollister store for Ireland is a great coup for Victoria Square and further endorses the scheme’s quality and position as the number one destination for fashion conscious Northern Islanders. Since opening in March 2008 Victoria Square’s following has continued to grow as it matures and settles in the Belfast and Northern Ireland shoppers psyche. The scheme has also hugely benefited from trade from Southern Ireland due to the strength of the Euro against the pound and this will be another strong pull.”

A Hollister representative said, “We’re excited to bring our Irish fan-base their first Hollister store where they can go and experience the brand first hand. Hollister is all about the fantasy of Southern California. We’re bringing SoCal to Ireland!”

Hollister is a lifestyle brand that embodies Southern California and operates over 500 stores across the globe, in addition to hollisterco.com. Hollister is a division of Abercrombie and Fitch (NYSE: ANF), a leading specialty retailer founded in 1892. With over 1,100 stores across the world, Abercrombie & Fitch offers five distinct lifestyles through its Abercrombie and Fitch , Abercrombie , Hollister Co., Ruehl, and Gilly Hicks divisions.

In a move that surprised nobody, Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) today announced plans to shutter its struggling 29-store Ruehl chain by the end of the year.

Perhaps the chain’s offerings were out of step with the times. Ruehl sought to define “the aspirational Greenwich Village lifestyle” with high-priced “signature styles” of clothing. The names of its products invoked a trendy kind of sophistication that the New York City neighborhood is known for; “One Night Stand,” “Buying Drinks” and “Chance Encounter” pocketbooks went for $298, while jeans sold for $118 and a pair of leather flip-flops fetched $50.

Ruehl generated a pre-tax operating loss of about $58 million for the fiscal year ended January 31, 2009, including a non-cash impairment charge of approximately $22 million. In a statement, Mike Jeffries, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Abercrombie & Fitch Co., said he was disappointed that the chain was closing.

“It has been a difficult decision to close Ruehl, a brand we continue to believe could have been successful in different circumstances,” Jeffries said in a press release.

Wall Street criticized Abercrombie & Fitch for taking so long to close Ruehl. Abercrombie took a $51 million impairment charge related to Ruehl in the first quarter and will have to charge off an additional $65 million over the rest of the year. Same-store sales at Ruehl fell 33 percent in May alone.

The company also announced that it has amended its existing credit agreement to exclude from its calculation of the minimum coverage and maximum leverage ratios up to $61 million of the estimated $65 million of additional pre-tax charges associated with exiting Ruehl. Abercrombie & Fitch also agreed to a reduction in the amount of available credit to $350 million from $450 million, an increase in the facility fee and borrowing costs, and a capital expenditure limit of $600 million for the 2009 and 2010 fiscal years, including not more than $275 million for fiscal 2009.

A student who worked for U.S. retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co. in London said Wednesday she was discriminated against because she has a prosthetic arm.

Riam Dean is seeking up to 25,000 pounds ($41,000) in damages at an employment tribunal.

Dean, a 22-year-old law student at the University of London, told the tribunal she worked at Abercrombie’s store on London’s posh Saville Row and had been given permission to wear a sweater to cover her prosthetic arm.

After a few days Dean said she was told she was breaking the company’s “look policy” and was asked to work in the stockroom.

Dean said the company gave new employees a thick guidebook dictating everything from how employees should wear their hair to the length of their fingernails.

“I have worn a prosthetic arm since I was 3 years old,” she said. “It was part of me, not a cosmetic.”

Oracle Retail Point-of-Service is currently live in more than 20 stores and the retailer is rolling it out in all new stores opened across the globe this year.Abercrombie and Fitch expects the Oracle Retail stores application to be deployed at all store locations by the end of next year.Abercrombie and Fitch implementation of Oracle Retail Point-of-Service includes an on-screen keyboard and a streamlined user experience to support the retailer’s distinctive in-store experience. The retailer is currently in phase two of its merchandising and stores implementation. This phase will be live in the Fall of 2009 to support the international opening of stores in Milan and Tokyo. The Oracle Retail applications are being implemented and managed on Oracle Enterprise Linux to help provide a more flexible, reliable, and cost effective solution. The retailer has also standardised on Oracle Database 11g.

Continuing the flagship trend, A&F is also committed to opening a second abercrombie flagship in New York City in 2010. It will be located on 666 Fifth Avenue, and will include 22,000 square feet of retail space. The location was the previous failed-retail spot of Brooks Brothers which vacated January 31, 2009. Construction has begun and marketing has been erected on the facade. 666 is also one of the most expensive retail spaces on the Avenue. This future abercrombie flagship will be near its Abercrombie & Fitch sister flagship and such luxury boutiques as Chanel, Fendi, and Prada.Abercrombie kids stores are designed to give off a “classic cool” effect

Abercrombie Kids (marketed as “abercrombie” or “abercrombie kids”) is a American lifestyle brand from Abercrombie & Fitch Co. This brand is the kid’s version of the popular Abercrombie & Fitch, with a “classic cool” theme targeted towards elementary/middle school individuals aged 7 through 14. Abercrombie kids offers apparel designed after the A&F “Casual Luxury” apparel but with smaller sizes and cheaper prices. Goods are sold in stores and at their website

“There is no question that our strategic relationship with Oracle Retail is delivering meaningful value to our business and will take on an increasingly important role as we move forward with our strategy and key growth initiatives,” said Kristen Blum, Senior Vice President and CIO, Abercrombie & Fitch. “Oracle Retail not only provides us with industry-leading, best practice applications and technology, but they have partnered with us across the board to get maximum value out of the systems as we aggressively drive our business

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Themes like shoes, caps, sentry, bags etc. ed hardy womens Swimwear clothes collection has exclusive accessories with its logo, like hats, belts, scarves etc. with legendary Ed Hardy tattoos are also ed hardy clothing untaken to the Abercrombie collection they believe in generous a craggy outdoor look to their ambience, trained models effective as sales personnel, and normalAbercrombie and Fitch . The hallway smeared of Ed Hardy clothes are the house in 1990. Over the world and is tattered by Ruehl which are prominently displayed on the front and sometimes at the back of clothes from where the collection gets its name. Abercrombie Jeans with a worn and ragged look are extremely trendy. As with Ed Hardy line Abercrombie too has tattoo prints as you cheer up when you are shopping for men, women, and children.

We figured those three phrases alone would be enough to get you to to sit up and take notice. A law student with a prosthetic arm has won her suit for wrongful dismissal against U.S. clothing retailer Abercrombie and Fitch after she was ordered to work in the stockroom. Click here for the AP story.

According to Dean, she was asked by a company employee if it would be possible “to keep you in the stockroom until the winter uniform arrives.” Dean then received letter saying she had been “erroneously placed on the shop floor.”

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. I’ve noticed that my kids aren’t open to anything Abercrombie these days,” says one mother of two teenage girls.At the New York City Abercrombie and Fitch store, whose neighbors Take heed, people. Abercrombie’s a bitch and Hollister is her bratty little sister. If you really feel you must go in, strap on your war gear first.You also might want to role play with your teen and prepare them to hear the word no, that’s too skimpy, too sheer, too tight, etc. I’d also recommend some Bose noise-cancelling headphones and maybe a flashlight to help you find your way out. include Prada and Gucci, a shirtless male model greets shoppers at the front and happily snaps pictures with the gawkers. Sales associates dance to hip-hop music in the aisles.Abercrombie , a retailer with a history of never slashing prices, is starting to go in the other direction. The company is making the move, despite the fact that executives still sound hesitant. Teen apparel retailer Abercrombie and Fitch Co. reports earnings for the fiscal second-quarter quarter on Friday. The following is a summary of key developments and analyst opinion relatedto the period. 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.

The commissioner ruled 4-0 with one abstention. The one commissioner abstained because his law firm represents a candidate running for office.
Abercrombie ’s attorney Karl Sandstrom argued that state and federal law does not rule directly against a candidate transferring funds from a federal campaign to a state campaign. The commission is making up laws, Sandstrom said.
“We are disappointed with the decision because we believe state law does not expressly prohibit transfer of federal surplus funds to state campaigns,” Sandstrom said. “All candidates should be treated equally, and the commission should not sanction double standards.”

For a limited time, Trial Membership in the Abercrombie and Fitch.

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. lost $26.7 million in the second quarter. This being the third straight quarter of double-digit sales declines, changes are afoot! Executives have finally realized the dissonance between the brand’s cost and its value. At last they’ve decided to lower prices, try to sell clothes that people see a point in purchasing, and focus on their greatest strength: sexy 20-year-olds who enjoy riding horses naked through the woods. CEO Michael Jeffries says he learned something after Ruehl shuttered in June: “We are young. We are sexy. We are controversial at times. That’s what we know how to do and that’s the business that we own here and are comfortable that we can around the world.”

The commission sided with the attorney for Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s campaign committee and an attorney for the Hawaii Republican Party. Both fought to block Abercrombie and Fitch from transferring his federal campaign money to his state gubernatorial run.

The posh Abercrombie and Fitch& Kent Residence Club is offering a trial membership for those interested in trying out one of the club’s multi-million-dollar residences (and really who wouldn’t be?). The Trial Membership offers access to beach, mountain and golf destinations in idyllic vaction spots including the Turks & Caicos, Deer Valley and Kiawah Island.

The commission sided with the attorney for Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s campaign committee and an attorney for the Hawaii Republican Party. Both fought to block Abercrombie and Fitch from transferring his federal campaign money to his state gubernatorial run.

The commissioner ruled 4-0 with one abstention. The one commissioner abstained because his law firm represents a candidate running for office.

Abercrombie ’s attorney Karl Sandstrom argued that state and federal law does not rule directly against a candidate transferring funds from a federal campaign to a state campaign. The commission is making up laws, Sandstrom said.

According to Dean, she was asked by a company employee if it would be possible “to keep you in the stockroom until the winter uniform arrives.” Dean then received letter saying she had been “erroneously placed on the shop floor.”

Congressman Neil Abercrombie’s run for governor took a big financial hit Tuesday.

The Campaign Spending Commission voted not to let him transfer more than $900,000 from his federal campaign to his state campaign.

There’s no question the $900,000 means a lot to the campaign, but Congressman Abercrombie and Fitch isn’t giving up on being able to use that money.

The congressman hosted a meet and chat at Waipahu Intermediate School tonight. He was all smiles during the meeting even though the Campaign Spending Commission voted unanimously against him. He says there’s a double standard and there are different rules for different people alluding to the fact that Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann was allowed to transfer more than $650,000 left over from his mayoral race to his gubernatorial campaign.

“Without that money can you still win?” KGMB9 asked.

“The money is still able to come. They can try to make it difficult. We’ll be dealing with it in court,” responded Congressman Abercrombie .

“(Are you) angry?” KGMB9 asked.

“No sense being angry. What good does that do? It’s a matter of sticking to your principles and moving ahead in the venue that’s available to us which is the courts,” said Abercrombie.

Abercrombie’s campaign says it’s also weighing the other options besides going to court including giving the federal money back to the original donors and then asking them to re-donate again to the state campaign. There’s also the possibility he may give the money to charity.

Congressman Abercrombie has about $250,000 left in his state campaign. That’s well below Mayor Hannemann, who has $1.16 million and Lt. Governor Duke Aiona, who has $871,000, but Abercrombie says there’s still plenty of time to fund raise.

What do trendy, high-priced items and a risqué image add up to in this “great recession”?

A quarterly loss of $26.7 million.

Today we found out just how hard one-time retail star Abercrombie and Fitch (ANF) got hit by the negative confluence of events over the past three months. The much-steeper-than-expected quarterly loss looks horrible when compared to the profit of $77.8 million the company posted in the same quarter a year ago.

But like so many topsy-turvy things on Wall Street these days, the shares gapped up in early trade as investors focused on the company’s valiant cost-cutting efforts, which included the closure of its Ruehl brand stores.
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Other respondents wrote in to take the company to task for its overly suggestive catalog, its lack of moral values and what was perceived to be an over-sexualized image. One respondent put it succinctly by saying they objected to Abercrombie’s “nasty advertising.”

Yes, the recession has hit nearly all retailers hard. But when you combine a general reluctance of consumers to spend money; a further hesitance to spend that money on high-priced items during a recession, and a moral aversion to products with a risqué image, you have a trifecta of reasons why it’s likely to be a tough slog ahead for ANF.

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Now there is no denying that Abercrombie has been a victim of the push toward a new frugality in America. The best measure of this is that the all-important same-store sales metric fell 30% over the past three months. But what we’ve also seen in the case of Abercrombie is a bit of a backlash against the company’s self-portrayal.

Last fall the ChangeWave Alliance Research Network conducted a survey that focused on consumer retail buying habits. Respondents were asked which retail stores they were least likely to shop at, and why.

At the top of the list was Abercrombie. Now, it wasn’t the company’s high prices relative to lower-cost alternatives such as Aeropostale (ARO) and American Eagle Outfitters (AEO) that caused consumers to roil at the prospect of patronage. The problem was, as one respondent wrote, the “immoral advertising and the message it sends to teens.”

Abercrombie and Fitch has clothes that look great on nearly everyone. They are fashionable, yet timeless styles that the wearer can keep in his or her wardrobe for years. The fashion and durability that Abercrombie and Fitch offers does come at a price. Abercrombie and Fitch are known for being a little more expensive than other stores that sell similar clothes, but those stores cannot match the style of Abercrombie and Fitch. Fortunately, Abercrombie and Fitch clothes can be found online at discount prices!

It is easy to notice that through abercrombie and fitch marketing strategy younger individuals are targeted in their ad campaigns. But, abercrobie and fitch can bring out the youth in any aged individual. Just walking into on of their stores or visiting their website intrigues shoppers with the ever-present abercrombie and fitch music playlist.

Further, abecrombie and fitch even has a song of its own that gets radio play because of the company’s immense popularity. Not only can clothes be purchased online at discount prices, so can the abercrombie and fitch store music soundtrack.

For those who simply cannot get enough of Abercrombie and Fitch there is an abercrombie and fitch job for you. Check online for availability. Even computers want to be fashionable and can be with the abercrombie and fitch wallpaper which can be saved and applied to your desk top. Whether you are an older individual or a young adult, abercromie and fitch will make you look great from head to toe while providing you with a soundtrack for your life and you can find all of it online!

An Abercrombie & Fitch shop worker with a prosthetic arm has won her case for wrongful dismissal against the retailer.

Riam Dean claimed she was taken off the shop floor of the American retailer’s London flagship store on Savile Row because she did not fit with the company’s “Look Policy”.

A central London tribunal has ruled she was wrongfully dismissed and unlawfully harassed, but did not uphold her claim for disability discrimination.

According to reports, the tribunal awarded Dean ￡7,800 compensation for injury to her feelings and ￡1,077.37 for loss of earnings and ￡136.75 damages for her wrongful dismissal.

Dean is believed to have befriended disabled model Sophie Morgan and the pair have launched Imperfect, a clothing range and campaign group.