Abercrombie & Fitch Stock

Abercrombie & Fitch Co., through its subsidiaries, operates as a digitally-led omnichannel retailer worldwide.

The company offers a broad assortment of apparel, personal care products and accessories for men, women and kids, which are sold primarily through its digital channels and company-owned stores, as well as through various third-party arrangements.

The company’s two brand-based operating segments are Hollister, which includes the company’s Hollister, Gilly Hicks and Social Tourist brands, and Abercrombie, which includes the company’s Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids brands. These five brands share a commitment to offering unique products of enduring quality and exceptional comfort that allow customers around the world to express their own individuality and style. The company operates primarily in North America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

The company’s brands are as follows:

Hollister: Hollister is the quintessential apparel brand of the global teen consumer.

Gilly Hicks: The company offers active lifestyle products to help Gen Z customers create happiness through movement.

Social Tourist: The lifestyle brand creates trend-forward apparel that allows brand lovers to experiment with their style, while exploring the duality of who they are both on social media and in real life.

Abercrombie & Fitch: Abercrombie & Fitch is a specialty retailer of apparel, outerwear and fragrance - designed to inspire the company’s global customers.

abercrombie kids: A global specialty retailer of comfortable, made-to-play favorites, abercrombie kids sees the world through kids’ eyes.

Operations

Digital Operations

The company has the capability to ship merchandise to customers in more than 110 countries and process transactions in 26 currencies and through 25 forms of payment globally. The company operates desktop and mobile websites for its brands globally, which are available in various local languages, and four mobile apps.

In the third quarter of Fiscal 2022 (January 28, 2023) the company launched Share2Pay, a new payment feature in the company’s mobile apps that allows customers to easily share their digital shopping bags with a purchaser to complete the purchase. Initially available exclusively in the Hollister mobile app, as of the first quarter of Fiscal 2023 (February 3, 2024), Share2Pay is available across each of the company’s mobile apps.

The company continues to develop its mobile capabilities as mobile engagement continues to grow, with over 83% of the company’s digital traffic generated from mobile devices in Fiscal 2022. In addition, in its efforts to expand its international brand reach, the company partners with certain third-party e-commerce platforms.

Store Operations

The company continues to thoughtfully open new stores and invest in smaller omni-enabled store experiences that align with local customer shopping preferences. New store formats are designed to provide the opportunity for higher productivity through a smaller footprint. During Fiscal 2022, the company opened new store locations, remodeled one store location and right-sized an additional store locations. These stores are designed to be open and inviting, and include accommodating features, such as innovative fitting rooms and omnichannel capabilities. Also included in the company’s new store openings for Fiscal 2022 are Gilly Hicks stand-alone locations. These stores are tailored to reflect the personality of each brand, with unique furniture, fixtures, music and scent adding to a rich brand experience. The company’s stores continue to play an essential role in creating brand awareness and serving as physical gateways to the brands. Stores also serve as local hubs for online engagement as the company continues to grow its omnichannel capabilities to create seamless shopping experiences.

As of January 28, 2023, all of the retail stores operated by the company are located in leased facilities, primarily in shopping centers. These leases generally have initial terms of between five and ten years. The leases expire at various dates between Fiscal 2023 and Fiscal 2033.

Third-Party Operations

The company seeks to expand its international brand reach, create brand awareness and develop local presence through various wholesale, franchise, and licensing arrangements. As of January 28, 2023, the company had ten wholesale partnerships, primarily internationally. The company’s franchisees operate international franchise stores across the company’s brands located in Mexico, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Strategy

The key elements of the company’s strategy are to execute brand growth plans (such as drive Abercrombie brands through marketing and store investment; Optimize the Hollister product and brand voice to enable second half growth; and support Gilly Hicks growth with an evolved assortment mix); execute an enterprise-wide digital revolution (such as complete the current phase of its modernization efforts around key data platforms; continue to progress on its multi-year enterprise resource planning (ERP) transformation and cloud migration journey; and Improve its digital and app experience across key parts of the customer journey).

Seasonality

Historically, the company’s operations have been seasonal in nature and consist of two principal selling seasons: the spring season, which includes the first and second fiscal quarters (year ended January 2023) (Spring) and the fall season, which includes the third and fourth fiscal quarters (Fall). The company experiences its greatest sales activity during Fall, due to back-to-school and holiday sales periods.

Trademarks

The trademarks Abercrombie & Fitch, abercrombie, Hollister, Gilly Hicks, Social Tourist and the ‘Moose’ and ‘Seagull’ logos are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and registered, or the company has applications for registration pending, with the registries of countries in key markets within the company’s sales and distribution channels. In addition, these trademarks are either registered, or the company has applications for registration pending, with the registries of many of the foreign countries in which the manufacturers of the company’s products are located. The company has also registered, or has applied to register, certain other trademarks in the U.S. and around the world.

History

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. was founded in 1892. The company was incorporated in Delaware in 1996.