Established by David Abercrombie in 1892, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., did not take on its official name until 1904, when Ezra Fitch became co-owner. Ezra Fitch had previously been a prominent New York attorney, and he left his practice and bought major shares in the company. Until that point, he had only been one of the stores biggest customers. The store began as an upscale sporting goods store, in Manhattan. Read on for the facts Regarding Abercrombie company history.
Their business arrangement did not last forever, and it ended badly. They both had different ideas about the direction of the business. Abercrombie wanted the business to remain strictly sporting goods, while Fitch wanted it to be more for the general public. Abercrombie ended up selling out to Fitch in 1907. Fitch got other partners and kept the business going.
Fitch and his expansions nearly bankrupt the company, however, they also paid off, and they really paid off historically. In 1909, Abercrombie and Fitch mailed out their first catalog, and it cost them one dollar each to publish them, which at that time was a great deal of money. The catalog was free to customers in the store. They were the first store in New York to supply clothing to women, and men. In 1913 they moved the store, and began including sportswear, and had already adopted the slogan “The Greatest Sporting Goods Store in the World.” By 1917, they were located in a building on Madison Avenue, and occupied all twelve stories. Another landmark for them, they were the first United States store to import Mahjong. Fitch imported the game after a female customer inquired about it, translated the Chinese into English, and Abercrombie was all the rage.
A&F supplied Charles Lindberg with his outfit in 1927 when he made his historic flight over the Atlantic. Fitch retired in 1928, selling his shares to Cobb, who was his brother-in-law. Cobb bought several other companies.
A&F was affected by the depression just as everyone else was, and did not really begin to recover until 1938. They did alright during the sixties, but the seventies were not a good time for them. They had to file bankruptcy in 1977. They were bought by a retail chain named Oshman’s in 1978, and they opened new stores in California and Texas. They continued to open stores.
In 1988, Limited Brands bought Abercrombie and it was still struggling. Michael Jeffries took over as president in 1992 and made popular the brand of teen clothing. He thought that the teen market would be the best way to go financially, and he was right. Would David Abercrombie have liked the song Summer Girls by LFO, “I like girls who wear Abercrombie and Fitch, ” which was on the charts in 1999, when Abercrombie the company did best financially.
Closing Comments
Currently, Abercrombie and Fitch are still going, hanging in there even in this economy and are the sixth most popular brand by teenagers. They have had quite the memorable run and they are still going. Good luck Abercrombie. Now you have had the opportunity to discover the Abercrombie company history.
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