“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.” Abercrombie and Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries made this statement to Salon in 2006, so why it’s coming out now I don’t know, but I’m glad that at least it’s getting the press now that it deserved back then. Better late than never. There are 2 sides to this one for sure, and anyone in a niche business will take 1 side or the other but I have to say, when I first read this article it hit me so hard I had a physical reaction. I felt sick. I posted an article someone shared with me on Facebook yesterday by a self -proclaimed former fat girl http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-taney-humphreys/a-message-to-abercrombies_b_3245941.html Listen, I’m in marketing so believe me, I get the whole target market thing. I blog about it consistently, and have made several video's on the need to differentiate and hone in on your target market, but in this case I’m drawin’ my line. Teens are a particularly sensitive and vulnerable market- they ‘re either victimized from the outside because of their looks or their lack of fitting in, or are victims of their own crappy self-images. Most of them have not yet become the superstars they will some day become, and Jeffries choice of words underscores the ugly money –driven society we have become, at the expense of those most vulnerable. We need to have a kinder and gentler approach when we're the big guy and Jeffries blew it on all fronts with this statement. We all know that he's targeting the thin and beautiful, but you know what- it's offensive. There are other stores who target towards particular kids niches as well- take Pac Sun- surfer/cool Cal chic, but guess what- their sizes range from XS to XL- still targeting, but not exclusionary. No one there is saying (I hope) “if you wear our clothes you make the brand look bad”. Where is the human element here? When do we stop being business people and start paying attention to hurtful, harmful sales tactics that only perpetuate bias and inequality to an especially vulnerable group? This is also a good lesson for our kids, and an opportunity to help them stand up for what is right, whether or not it ultimately solves the problem or not. A little social consciousness never hurt anyone. My teenage daughter will never shop there again, and tweeted to her Twitter followers to join her in boycotting Abercrombie. Call me idealistic, call me naive, call me late for supper- but I don’t give a rats’ heinie. You have to start somewhere- otherwise we just become part of the problem. I would LOVE your thoughts on this. I know I’m being controversial. Don’t be afraid to disagree with me, I don’t bite!
