Abercrombie kids
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
History
Abercrombie & Fitch introduced abercrombie in 1997 with 9 stores. The purpose was to attract a younger audience to the American Abercrombie brand. The name of the concept took the same font of its parent, but with a navy color. The abbreviation from "Abercrombie & Fitch" to "abercrombie" with lowercase letters was intended to provide a children's image. The store prototype was as the A&F one, but with variations also intended to appeal to the younger audience. Early abercrombie models include Ronnie Smith, Cassie Ventura, Christina Akatsuka, Christian Valentin, and Lindsay Lohan.
Current operations
Stores and expansion
Abercrombie kids stores are designed to give off a "classic cool" effect. They are designed as "canoe stores," displaying the a similar floor layout as Abercrombie & Fitch's (the retail space is divided into multiple rooms). However, the kids prototype does bear differences. It has no louvers to cover the windows, has brighter lighting, is smaller in retail space, blasts electronic dance music and pop music from young artists, and displays marketing pictures with young models resembling those at A&F. The signature fragrance, "Phelps", is sprayed store-wide. However, in late 2008, most new stores have added wooden louvers.
As of 2008, abercrombie operates a total of 209 stores in the United States. abercrombie kids opened its first Canadian store on August 21, 2008 at Sherway Gardens in Toronto, Ontario. Another abercrombie kids store opened at Toronto Eaton Centre in Toronto, Ontario around the end of November.As of February 2008, there are stores in every state except for Alaska, Delaware, Hawaii, Maine, Montana, Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont (Closed in 2005), West Virginia, and Wyoming.
abercrombie kids goods
[Abercrombie]
abercrombie kids' apparel is designed to mimic Abercrombie & Fitch clothing, and the brand carries most the styles that A&F does. Most abercrombie kids clothes that have the labeled moose on them are to resemble their parent company "Abercrombie & Fitch" but the kids signature moose is a smaller to symbolize that they are children. The trademarked term, "classic cool", is used to promote the clothing on an in-store and website level from abercrombie and it acts as the more juvenile version of A&F's slogan "Casual Luxury". The "classic cool" trade mark was retired in 2007 along with Abercrombie and Fitch's "Casual Luxury". Jeans bear the same back-pocket-stitching pattern as A&F as well as the same fits respective to sex. The logo moose is prominently displayed on clothing as is the name "abercrombie" as well as the year of establishment, "1892" (Abercrombie & Fitch was itself established in 1892, but in reality, the children's' line "abercrombie" was not started until 1997). Clothing is categorized within the "guys" and "girls" divisions. Price points are on par with those at sister brand Hollister Co.
The brand carries the following fragrance collections: "Phelps" cologne, "Chase" cologne and "Cologne 15," as well as "Emerson," "Spirit" perfume, and "Perfume 15". The brand released the "abercrombie" cologne and perfume set previous to 2006; however, it was retired Christmas 2007. Chase and Spirit were released Christmas 2006 and were followed by Cologne 15 and Perfume 15 being released Christmas 2007. Chase is set to retire from stores after the Back to School 2009 season is over, however will be available on the abercrombie website until 2010. New fragrance Phelps and Emerson were released for Christmas 2008.
Future plans
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Expansion
The Abercrombie Kids brand will begin its international expansion, following its sister brands Abercrombie and Fitch and Hollister Co., in Canada. The first store has opened at Sherway Gardens with the opening postponed by a few days. Toronto Eaton Centre opened an abercrombie kids store on November 26th 2008. abercrombie kids may soon follow the international expansion outside of North America.
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Flagships
Abercrombie & Fitch has begun planning openings of non-A&F flagships for its brands in high-retail venues. The Company will open the first Hollister Co. flagship in SoHo 2009. abercrombie kids will follow this trend. The first abercrombie kids flagship opening will acompany the opening of the Abercrombie & Fitch flagship in Milan in 2009. This opening is one of the main comminments the A&F company has for fiscal 2009.This opening will mark the first international store for the abercrombie brand.
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.
Controversy
Humor tees from the brand have always had a following of criticism and controversy. Most slogans are taken as degrading girls (e.g., "I'm not allowed to date unless you're hot", ). They also show arrogant messages or disrespectful slogans ("'I will make you an all-star on the walk of shame'"). They are anti-education slogans as well: "'I'd do your homework, but I don't even do mine'; 'School is for catching up on sleep'). Girls' shirts are sold with slogans that typically show off their looks ("It's better being brunette", etc.). Perhaps the most controversial of all was the line of underwear for young girls with the sayings "Wink Wink" and "Eye Candy" screenprinted on them. Parents mounted storefront protests in outrage of the sexually-suggestive underwear. CEO and Chairman of the Board Mike Jeffries said to an interviewer that he did not think the underwear to be "bad", but moreso "cute."
Why I Hate Abercrombie and Fitch
[Abercrombie]
Why I Hate
Abercrombie and Fitch: Essays on Race and Sexuality is a book regarding ethno-relational mores in contemporary gay African America with a nod to black, feminist and queer cultural contexts "dedicated to integrating sexuality and race into black and queer studies." It is written by Dwight A. McBride, the new dean of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s College of Arts and Sciences. The book is published by New York University Press and used in Queer Studies as well as related college courses in universities McBride was a guest speaker at several universities speaking about the essay's subjects of race and sexuality in America. The collection of essays "offering contemporary cultural criticism" was a 2006 Lambda Literary Award and 2006 Hurston-Wright Legacy Award nominee as well as the Passing The Torch winner from the New York University Press.
The book is divided into three main sections: "Queer Black Thought," "Race and Sexuality on Occasion" and "Straight Black Talk" all exploring facets of the intersections of race, sexuality, class and gender issues. The often personal essays speak to the "ghettoization of black men in gay male porn" to broader subjects including the book's namesake Abercrombie & Fitch and how the clothing retailer influences the gay African-American male. McBride has been recognized as a specialist in bridging LGBT and racial issues illuminating both.
