Abercrombie & Fitch still struggles

No logo!

Abercrombie & Fitch’s fourth quarter like-for-like turnover dropped another 10 % compared to the same quarter the year before, which was even worse than the – 8.2 % analysts had expected. Profit even dropped nearly a third, down to 44.4 million dollars (40 million euro). Investors were not amused: Abercrombie & Fitch’s share dropped 15 % and was down to its lowest point in the past 6 years.

A&F and its affiliate brand Hollister became popular with huge logos all across their collections, but as logos are no longer trendy, sales have slumped. The group, without its flamboyant CEO Mike Jeffries since late last year, expects the impact of its “logo sales” to diminish in the first half of its new fiscal year and even disappear in the second part of the year.

That has not stopped the company from cutting down its retail park: it shut down 52 stores in the United States alone and will eliminate another 60 this year. In January, Abercrombie & Fitch still had 799 stores in the United States. Outside of the United States, it has 170 stores, with 15 new store openings in 2014 and another 15 planned for this year.