Table of ContentsIntroductionBackgroundSocial Trends and Social MediaIssue with StakeholdersSWOT Analysis of SWOT: Force Field AnalysisCSRIntroductionAbercrombie & Fitch Co. was founded in New York in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie and Ezra H. Fitch. According to its own marketing, A&F is “an iconic specialty retailer of high-quality clothing and accessories.” (10)The company's two segments include the Abercrombie & Fitch and Abercrombie kids brands, as well as Hollister, which was launched most recently, in 2000. For this analysis, the focus will be on the Abercrombie & Fitch brand . Originally the company as a sporting goods retailer, A&F has come a long way from its original function. (8) Today, A&F targets customers aged 21 to 24, with 270 stores worldwide. They emphasize diversity and inclusion through “effortless American style.” (10) Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”?Get the original essayBackgroundThe year 1992 marked a new beginning for Abercrombie & Fitch, when Mike Jeffries became the new CEO with a firm vision; sex sells. He is known as the creator of A&F's modern branding. Sales increased as the brand became more and more exclusive to America's beautiful cool kids. Apart from a few complaints, the brand first had real problems with CSR in 2002, when a protest was launched against its sexual advertisements. The same year, they were sued for racist t-shirts that discriminated against Asians. In 2006, Jeffries was interviewed by Salon about his feelings towards A&F's target audience. The world-famous quote has become the icon of Mike Jeffries, and therefore also of Abercrombie & FItch; “In every school, there are cool, popular kids, and then there are not-so-cool kids. Honestly, we're going after the cool kids...A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't be a part of it. Are we exclusive? Absolutely." This infamous interview brought bad publicity for A&F, but it wasn't released online until 2013. (12) This was the year Abercrombie & Fitch began to decline sharply. (13) Arguably, the poor reputation resulting from the interview played a key role in this decline. In 2016, A&F initiated a massive change in its marketing, in order to reform its image. undervalued brand. “Rather than buying clothing that symbolizes membership in an exclusive group, today’s consumer celebrates individuality and uniqueness.” – Fran Horowitz, president and chief merchandising officer of A&F (11)) It could be argued that this change was inevitable, given A&F's prolonged decline in sales and popularity. However, whether or not the execution was successful is still debatable. therefore, the research question for this investigation is: "How successful was Abercrombie and Fitch's rebranding?" » Social Trends and Social Media The 2016 rebranding was a response to the poor financial results of a few years.(1) However, it could also be seen as a response to developing social trends, which A&F had ignored in its policy marketing. H&M, one of its main competitors in 2015, emphasized diversity, while A&F went after white “All-American kids.” In a video advertisement published in 2016, we find models of different ethnicities, to highlight the change in theirunpopular branding. (4) Ironically, only a year earlier, Abercrombie & Fitch had even been sued for rejecting a job application due to wearing a headscarf. (5) Social media can be a tool to attract all kinds of attention to businesses. Abercrombie & Fitch used social media to very effectively disseminate its reforms and new vision. They launched an online video ad, deleted their Instagram account, and completely overhauled their own website. (4) However, A&F has not struggled with too little attention online. In 2013, blogger Jes Baker launched an online campaign against Abercrombie & Fitch's limited size policy towards women. The goal of the “Attractive and Bold” campaign was to challenge A&F’s branding efforts. “I challenge the divide between handsome and fat, and assert that they are compatible regardless of what you believe,” Baker wrote in a public letter to former CEO Mike Jeffries. (3) Body positivity is a social trend encouraging everyone to love and respect their own body as it is. This is mainly associated with overweight women. Before 2013, A&F did not offer sizes beyond 10 for women. The average American woman wears a size 14, so Abercrombie & Fitch was undoubtedly emphasizing its unethical exclusion policy. (15) Stakeholder Issue For a company as big as Abercrombie & Fitch, customer satisfaction plays a very important role. Customers are one of the main external stakeholder groups and for A&F, satisfaction has been very low. In 2015, the company achieved its lowest results ever on the U.S. Customer Satisfaction Index. (ACSI) The 2016 results are also low, but there is an increase of 17% compared to previous years' results. The ACSI is published quarterly, so results collected from 2016 date after the rebranding. (6) It is possible that the 2015 customer satisfaction results were also a trigger for change. A deeper analysis of the ACSI allows us to conclude that, according to this index, the rebranding was a success in terms of customer satisfaction. The latest records - from 2017 - show that A&F is no longer the "most hated retailer in the United States", and the results have increased compared to 2015. However, these results are limited, as the results are collected only in the United States, and only consumers interested in the topic responded to ACSI's survey.SWOTA SWOT analysis is a business tool that evaluates an organization's strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats , in order to observe the current situation of a company. For this investigation, I used a SWOT analysis to better understand A&F's position and opportunities after the rebranding. Strengths Global position, stores and awareness worldwide (10) Single retailer (male models in stores) Well recognized logo A broad retail portfolio Strong heritage Weaknesses Ethical issues in the past (racism, gender, exclusion) Loss of “coolness” among younger customers Reputation of controversial management (Mike Jeffries) Opportunities Rebuild a new brand Enter a new market Reach new customers Threats Competition from other fast fashion trends that offer a cheaper option ( HM, Zara, Forever21) Differentiation becomes difficult (16) Unstable brand image, if it is constantly changing. Stores are constantly closing (17) SWOT analysis: The SWOT analysis carried out makes it possible to interpret that despite the brand's multiple strengths, its position on the market is quite unstable. InAs a threat mentioned, competition constitutes a significant part of the difficulties that the brand faces after the rebranding. The high-end lifestyle clothing market that Abercrombie & Fitch has entered is very large. A&F has started offering products very similar to its competitors, which are not typical A&F clothing, but the prices remain high. This has placed the brand in a position where competition is very intense.(19) Due to the competitive nature of the industry, differentiation has also become very difficult. Since most brands are looking for a unique selling point to stand out from their competitors, rebranding will require the brand to create a new unique selling point to differentiate itself. So, as all brands aim for a unique brand image, it becomes extremely difficult to stand out from all other brands. (16) (20(358-360)) The difficulty of differentiation in the industry is closely related to another threat that A&F faces in the context of rebranding. They have a very unstable brand image. Since Mike Jeffries retired from his role as CEO in 2014, the reforms have become increasingly radical. How? prove!However, the SWOT analysis also shows that the brand has multiple opportunities in the new market. Although their brand image has been unstable in recent years, it has its advantages. This gives the company a chance to create an enhanced brand image, which will surely attract media attention due to the level of brand awareness it has achieved. A&F also has the opportunity to increase its sales, as it reaches new customers by expanding its target segment from teenagers to older people. (23) In addition to expanding its target audience based on age, it has also become more inclusive towards customers by emphasizing diversity through models from different backgrounds. (24) If we weigh the strengths and weaknesses analyzed in the SWOT analysis, we see that A&F has many strong points, but is weakened by its controversial past. They have stores in 16 countries, giving them worldwide fame. With their unique heritage dating back to 1892, they have gained a strong position as a retailer. Their logo is well recognized and they offer a wide range of clothing. (10) On the other hand, the well-known logo and strong stance have also become one of their weaknesses, since they can still be associated with the infamous Mike Jeffries interview in 2006. According to the Guardian, A&F lost its “coolness” among teenagers before the rebranding. (22) Thus, its reputation among its customers is constantly in doubt, because a sudden mass effect could once again put A&F in a bad light. Force Field Analysis A force field is a business tool used to help weigh a decision. For this essay, I used force field analysis to see what conclusion it would support given my research question. Was A&F’s 2016 rebrand a success? Driving forces more ethical brand image 3 better CSR 4 better customer satisfaction 5 expanding target audience 3 financial? sales 5Loss of image/unique brand position 3Loss of loyal/old customers 2financial ?Given that A&F's reputation for a very niche market had gone viral in 2013 and caused problems in their success, it was all to predictable fact that a transition is in preparation. When in 2016 A&F finally bluntly announced a fresh start for the brand, it was seen as superficial by some customers. (26) Table 2 illustrates the evolution of Abercrombie and Fitch's comparable sales.