Abercrombie & Fitch CEO explains why he only caters to thin and beautiful people

[rumborak]

https://elitedaily.com/news/world/abercrombie-fitch-ceo-explains-why-he-hates-fat-chicks/

“He doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people,” Lewis said. “He doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.’”

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,” he told the site. “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,” he told Salon.

I gotta be perfectly honest, I don't really have a problem with what he's doing. He's decided to target a specific demographic with his product, and frankly, that's good business acumen. And I also agree with that if they started stocking XL and XXL sizes, they would get into danger of becoming another Target or whatever. I mean, nobody complains that Maserati doesn't put out a family SUV, right?

[Ben_Jamin]

Its his business so he can run it however way he wants. I have no problem with it either, why should he cater to every group?

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

Whatever makes money.

[Cool Chris]

... he wants thin and beautiful people...

...big talk coming from the ugliest CEO on the planet. 

Agreed on the premise though. No store or brand needs to sell XS-XXXXXXL clothing.

[Kotowboy]

XXXXXXXXXXXXL   

At what stage do they stop marketing them as shirts and start marketing them as " tents ".

[Nel]

He can do as he pleases with his business, asshole or not. Personally, I can't stand their stores. The fucking fragrances set off my allergies.

And dude looks like that red-headed kid from that movie. What was his name? Rocky?

[rumborak]

Rocky Dennis, yeah.

[MoraWintersoul]

No store or brand needs to sell XS-XXXXXXL clothing.

The problem is that a lot of people are larger than the "beautiful, cool" people most major chains target. It's ridiculous to confine a growing part of the population to isolated plus size stores, which would be better if weren't for the fact a lot of plus size stores think all fat people, especially fat women, want to look like really sad sacks, in overpriced, shapeless, poor-fitting, horridly designed garments: https://wtfplus.tumblr.com/
Like, god forbid if you wanted to wear something that fits your body or has a cute pattern and a non-wtf design.

[kirksnosehair]

"We go after the attractive...."


 




I don't give a shit, but you have to admit it's kind of funny 

[rumborak]

Like, god forbid if you wanted to wear something that fits your body or has a cute pattern and a non-wtf design.

Let's however also be realistic. Fashion is all about image, and specifically women go to clothes stores to reinforce a positive image.  I can completely see how having 4X-8X sizes (I didn't even know those existed, it's mentioned in that Tumblr link of yours) in your fashion store is going to keep normal-sized people away, simply out of association that happens when you see somebody trying on the 8X version of the pants you are thinking about trying.

[Cool Chris]

It's ridiculous to confine a growing part of the population to isolated plus size stores, which would be better if weren't for the fact a lot of plus size stores think all fat people, especially fat women, want to look like really sad sacks, in overpriced, shapeless, poor-fitting, horridly designed garments

In that case, it isn’t A&E’s fault that plus-size clothing is ugly. And from an economics standpoint, it should be poor practice for a store like A&E to cater to an increasing minority of shoppers. But based on that idiot’s compensation package, they seem to be doing ok.

I will say is it annoying that different pants that say ‘Size 32’ all are different sizes, very few of which would actually qualify as 32”

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

Douchebag CEO caters to douchebag customers?

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

It's ridiculous to confine a growing part of the population to isolated plus size stores, which would be better if weren't for the fact a lot of plus size stores think all fat people, especially fat women, want to look like really sad sacks, in overpriced, shapeless, poor-fitting, horridly designed garments

In that case, it isn’t A&E’s fault that plus-size clothing is ugly. And from an economics standpoint, it should be poor practice for a store like A&E to cater to an increasing minority of shoppers. But based on that idiot’s compensation package, they seem to be doing ok.

I will say is it annoying that different pants that say ‘Size 32’ all are different sizes, very few of which would actually qualify as 32”

Yeah, I've come to the conclusion no two pairs of pants are ever the same size.

[Jaq]

Ugly motherfucker only wants beautiful rail thin people to wear his overpriced clothes.

And yeah, since he probably would think everyone in this thread is too big to wear his clothes, I'm gonna harp on about that son of a bitch looking like he fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, because that's just too ironic to ignore.

[LieLowTheWantedMan]

I'm definitely skinny enough. I just don't wear them because they look like ordinary clothes only with words on them that jack the price straight up. Then again I do wear XL shirts, but that's just to accommodate for my height, heh.

[MoraWintersoul]

It's ridiculous to confine a growing part of the population to isolated plus size stores, which would be better if weren't for the fact a lot of plus size stores think all fat people, especially fat women, want to look like really sad sacks, in overpriced, shapeless, poor-fitting, horridly designed garments

In that case, it isn’t A&E’s fault that plus-size clothing is ugly. And from an economics standpoint, it should be poor practice for a store like A&E to cater to an increasing minority of shoppers.

Yeah, I'm just saying that they are rather a part of the problem than the solution.

Like, god forbid if you wanted to wear something that fits your body or has a cute pattern and a non-wtf design.

Let's however also be realistic. Fashion is all about image, and specifically women go to clothes stores to reinforce a positive image.  I can completely see how having 4X-8X sizes (I didn't even know those existed, it's mentioned in that Tumblr link of yours) in your fashion store is going to keep normal-sized people away, simply out of association that happens when you see somebody trying on the 8X version of the pants you are thinking about trying.

Well blame that on the society which stigmatizes fat people so much that us straight sized people would be petrified seeing a fat person wearing the same type of jeans as us. I'd totally exchange styling tips with a size 26, 45-year-old fab fashionista. I am considered not quite normal for thinking this so take this as just my very isolated opinion

[Sir GuitarCozmo]

The guy should really start trolling mega-hard now.  Take all the men's shirts and change up the color names on them.  Instead of red, blue, yellow, etc. the colors should now be things like Tropical Rain, Island Splash, and Delicate Blossom.

[rumborak]

Well blame that on the society which stigmatizes fat people so much that us straight sized people would be petrified seeing a fat person wearing the same type of jeans as us.

Maybe large people are stigmatized, but let's not forget that it is also a sign of disease. I find it somewhat strange that all these attempts are made at "normalizing" a diseased state of the human body.

[Perpetual Change]

Eh, I don't care how the guy runs his own business, but there's a real inflated sense of one's own importance. I mean, does anyone really care what logo someone else has on their jeans? Do the people who do care really matter? If I'm wearing jeans from A&F, will others percieve me as more American and mainstream than if I've just got a pair of Levi's on?

People who think those sorts of thoughts really need to get off it.

[rumborak]

No argument from me on that one. But, the world has always had conceited people, that's not gonna change.

[cramx3]

Who cares? The clothes are way over priced and are nothing special. I wear XL and my mom bought me clothes from them when I was in college. They were nice clothes bit they definitely didn't fit right on me so I knew then that their clothes weren't meant for people who were even slightly over weight which I was at the time. So I don't shop there and this just furthers my reasons not to shop there. Fine with me, I don't know anyone who thinks I'm less cool now.

[Big Hath]

Ugly motherfucker only wants beautiful rail thin people to wear his overpriced clothes.

And yeah, since he probably would think everyone in this thread is too big to wear his clothes, I'm gonna harp on about that son of a bitch looking like he fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, because that's just too ironic to ignore.

ha!  I prefer to say he fell out of the ugly tree, hit every branch on the way down, then somebody picked up one of the branches and beat him with it

[MoraWintersoul]

Well blame that on the society which stigmatizes fat people so much that us straight sized people would be petrified seeing a fat person wearing the same type of jeans as us.

Maybe large people are stigmatized, but let's not forget that it is also a sign of disease. I find it somewhat strange that all these attempts are made at "normalizing" a diseased state of the human body.

I think people are only "normalizing" what has been a part of society for many years. Some people are larger genetically, yes, and I find it ridiculous that thin people have the liberty to say "well I just have a fast metabolism", but a slow metabolism is an "excuse". Some obese people are "sick", and exercise/healthy diet is a method that works for weight loss in general, but we should take into consideration people who work long hard hours for small pay and only have time and energy for a meal in the drive-through and passing out on the couch, and not yoga and cooking with fresh ingredients, and there is just so much compelling evidence that a part of the population will always be fat.

[black_biff_stadler]

I'm just glad that, since all of their clothing looks like bland utter shit, I never shop there anyway. And this is coming from a guy who spent a good 2 or 3 years of his life shopping at places like The Gap, Eddie Bauer, and Old Navy, so I'm not just talking shit because the dude happened to say things I strongly disagree with.

[Super Dude]

Welp.

[El Barto]

I've got no problem with this. Market towards whoever the hell you want. And this is actually pretty good for the brand, since as long as everybody's focused on the fat people thing, people are overlooking that they've been the real life Little Lacey Surprise company for quite some time. Not a problem in Europe, but they tend to catch a loot of heat for that over here.

[King Postwhore]

"We go after the attractive...."


 




I don't give a shit, but you have to admit it's kind of funny 

I love when plastic surgery goes wrong.  Age gracefully buddy. 

[ResultsMayVary]

Its his business so he can run it however way he wants. I have no problem with it either, why should he cater to every group?

Pretty much how I feel about it. People have been getting really bent out of shape over this, though. Mostly people that I'm friends with on facebook. A lot of the posts of the link in the OP have been accompanied by statements that generally say this guy is a worthless piece of shit, or something similar to that.

[Jarlaxle]

Never been in an A&F store, but I got no problem with targeting who he wants to sell to, but to say it, especially the way he said it, is completely out of line.

[73109]

While I agree that the guy is being somewhat of an open douche, the first thing that came to my mind is that this isn't any different from our current education system.

Replace "thin and beautiful people" with "intelligent and educated people" and "wear our clothing" with "come to our school."

There is a reason why MIT is more revered then come community college—MIT caters to incredibly smart people.

You see someone wearing an A&F shirt and say, "Hmm, he is attractive." You find someone is going to Princeton and say, "Hmm, he is smart."

It just seems like the way we feel about body image/the way society has pressured people makes this similarity a little less visible.

Edit: BTW, this is coming from a person who abhors the brand and would rather go naked than wear it.

[bout to crash]

Douche. It's funny that he thinks his clothes are cool and exciting.

Back in my fat days, I once went into one of those stores and convinced someone in line to give me cash for a gift card because "Do I look like I shop here?" 

[carl320]

Ugly motherfucker only wants beautiful rail thin people to wear his overpriced clothes.

And yeah, since he probably would think everyone in this thread is too big to wear his clothes, I'm gonna harp on about that son of a bitch looking like he fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down, because that's just too ironic to ignore.

ha!  I prefer to say he fell out of the ugly tree, hit every branch on the way down, then somebody picked up one of the branches and beat him with it

That is awesome 

[antigoon]

This is fine and all, but it's just hilarious coming from such a trashy brand.

[rumborak]

I never liked the very thing that defines that brand, i.e. the stupid mention of the brand right on the shirt. Then again, I'm not their target audience. I think I'm too good-looking for them, at least judging by the company's CEO.

[antigoon]

it's incredibly tacky.