This Abercrombie Debacle...Opinions?

RD

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#81
Insecure girls with body issues are getting the same awful message - that they have to fit within a certain size range in order to be attractive and acceptable in society - from a myriad of sources. Seriously, it's ALL AROUND US that thin is pretty and being pretty is the only way to have friends and be loved. I just don't understand why Abercrombie is being singled out as a powerful driving force in this situation. All of the entertainment/fashion industry glorifies a certain appearance, yet a clothing company is taking major heat for catering to people whose bodies fit that ideal?

Abercrombie's marketing ploy, the claim that they only cater to the cool, attractive kids, is being eaten up as they want it to be. Self-absorbed people will pat themselves on the back for wearing that brand, perpetuating the delusion that they are part of some elite clothing clique. Tryhard teenagers will continue to try hard to purge their insecurities through a label on their pants. People want that exclusivity so badly that they will pay stupid prices for a middle-of-the-road product, simply to feel like they're the kind of person that "belongs in those clothes". Heh.
 

Jules

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#82
But it's not just about sizes. It's about being a type. Being attractive. The kid who has acne, a crooked nose, big ears... Etc. Sure, in the end he can do what he wants. Obviously he is doing fine. But I think it's good that people take a stand against a bully and spread awareness. How else would anything ever get changed?
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#83
I'm curious how much people are paying attention. I told Denis this yesterday and he burst out laughing saying if it took the CEOs statement to tell you the company policy you've not been paying attention, this from a guy who's never even thought to look into the store.

Is it really about the store or his statement?
 

sparks19

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#85
But it's not just about sizes. It's about being a type. Being attractive. The kid who has acne, a crooked nose, big ears... Etc. Sure, in the end he can do what he wants. Obviously he is doing fine. But I think it's good that people take a stand against a bully and spread awareness. How else would anything ever get changed?
This. :)
 

~Jessie~

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#86
I agree 100% with this. Who cares about what sizes the store has.... But it's this bullying, elitist attitude that I find disgusting. These days I have no patience for people behaving like that when we should be working on acceptance throughout our society and not single people out.
Exactly. I understand I'm not going to fit into the sizes at every store, and I'm okay with that.

I'm only 5'2" and if I don't buy something in "short" or "petite," dresses and pants are generally too long for me. Express is one of those stores where I've never been able to get pants/skirts/dresses from. I don't care that they cater towards taller girls/women. It can feel implied that their clothing is designed for a more "model" type body- tall and thin, and that's totally fine.

If they released a statement saying that short girls are uncool/ugly/don't deserve their clothing and they only make them for tall people to keep short girls out, I'd feel the same way.

We know that Abercrombie's clothing cuts off at size 10. Nothing wrong with that. But then the CEO says:

“A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong.â€

“Abercrombie is only interested in people with washboard stomachs who look like they’re about to jump on a surfboardâ€

“I don’t want our core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing our clothing.â€

So... everyone over a size 10 is automatically not as hot as the people under a size 10. Offensive to me, and I'm a size 2.

“In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids.â€

And he adds...


“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 belongâ€


So, you're only hot and cool if you can fit into a size 10 or smaller. My issue with this company is bullying. We all know that Abercrombie only carries smaller sizes. We know the market is for preppy teenagers. We know it used to be one of the "cool" brands. None of it becomes bullying until those statements made by the CEO. You're fat, ugly, and uncool and aren't welcome in our store because we don't want the "cool" kids to even be associated with you.

Abercrombie's target market is the 14-22 year old crowd. Of course, this is the group with the highest amount of body image issues. Puberty, dating, dealing with cliques and groups, and the need to "fit in" are all major issues with this age group. They don't need to hear this crap. They don't need to read this article and feel worse when they're being teased by a "cool" kid in an A&F shirt.

If Abercrombie went out of business, it would be one less crappy company out there getting our money.
 

OwnedByBCs

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#89
When I was in school, I was always popular, I always had friends. I have never been skinny, so I really don't get the idea that everyone who is cool is thin, lol. Whatever, again, this guy is just another jerk who called me fat- but I do hope his comments don't hurt anyone else. I remember how fragile I was in high school- that is a rough time- and I certainly thought if I was skinny my problems would magically go away.
 

AdrianneIsabel

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#90
The CEO's message and vision travel down from the top of the company to the managers at the stores. You're working for a guy who doesn't want the "uncool" in his stores, so you're going to either have to keep it that way or not get paid.
My confusion is slightly, why now then? I mean its a common known fact this company has always been like this and many others share in elitist and often times cruel marketing ploys. So, is it the public statement? Would it be okay if he didn't voice this?

I don't mean this as confrontational at all, it's genuine intrigue and the belief that this isn't a new found mission for the company.
 

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#92
My confusion is slightly, why now then? I mean its a common known fact this company has always been like this and many others share in elitist and often times cruel marketing ploys. So, is it the public statement? Would it be okay if he didn't voice this?

I don't mean this as confrontational at all, it's genuine intrigue and the belief that this isn't a new found mission for the company.
I've known how they really felt once I started working there. Like I've mentioned, Abercrombie and Hollister were brands I liked when I was in middle school through college. They fit me well, I liked the styles, and I would buy the things without plastered logos.

For me, the CEO's views weren't common knowledge. I mean, it was obvious that the store was popular and a lot of people wore it. I never realized hey had size cut offs because I'd just grab my own sizes and not pay attention to the others.

Working there really gave me perspective on how the company runs from the top down. In school I thought it was popular and for "trendy" people because it fell into that niche. I didn't know it was because the CEO was spewing hate. I thought it was the same as American Eagle or any other company in that same category.
 

OwnedByBCs

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#93
I do think that it matters that he said it in such a public way. If Joe Schmo down the street says "I hate fat people" in conversation with his neighbor- it probably won't negatively affect anyone (unless that neighbor is fat), or at the most a few people. But this CEO saying it- suddenly it affects millions of overweight and obese people, all over the world, all at once.

People who are in the spotlight have to be more careful with what they say than normal people.
 

~Jessie~

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#95
I don't mean it doesn't matter, I'm just shocked people aren't aware without being told.
You can assume all you want about someone, but no, you don't know how they really feel until the actual words come out of their mouths.

Take American Eagle for instance. They go up to what, size 16? What if the CEO does that for a reason and it's not just to keep their inventory and manufacturing costs down? He hasn't released a statement, so I have no reason to believe that. They're targeting the same demographic as Abercrombie- the clean cut teen/college student/young adult. They were even in a lawsuit for copying an Abercrombie design.

The public statement made by Abercrombie's CEO does matter. Yes, it can be implied that the store isn't for the fat or "uncool" all day until the cows come home, but the words put that information OUT there. You could assume how he felt all you wanted, but now you KNOW how he feels.
 

Tahla9999

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#96
I have an idea for a small business that I plan to make happen one day. It will be a business that will stay connected to the consumers as far as interaction goes, and it will be an online business. As the business owner, I know there is one thing I don't ever want to do, and that is **** off my customers.

Why? Because when customers are upset with a business, they want that business to fail. In person, they tell the people "I'll never shop at this store again" and for greater affect, they add something like "and I spend my money here all the time, you just lost a great customer!". They do this because they know one of the major ways to hurt a business is a business losing money, and businesses don't want to lose a regular customer who, to hurt the business even more, tell their friends not to shop there anymore. You just lost a butt load of cash. If you are the head of a business, you have be as politically correct as possible, avoid being too direct about certain things. Yes, we all have our freedom of speech, but when your comments will cause people to hate you, they will push that hate on to your business and try collectively to get you to fail. When your career is dependent on people liking you, you HAVE to be careful with what you say. Another example, if a famous actor said in an interview that he hated Asians, there is going to be a public backlash against him. People will protest by stop going to his movies, and directors will be terrified to hire him for their movies in fear of their movies failing due to him. He just lost his career.

People could careless if this store only sells a certain size, this is all about getting back at the CEO for his shameful comments by hurting him where it really matters- his pockets.
 

Jules

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#97
You can assume all you want about someone, but no, you don't know how they really feel until the actual words come out of their mouths.

Take American Eagle for instance. They go up to what, size 16? What if the CEO does that for a reason and it's not just to keep their inventory and manufacturing costs down? He hasn't released a statement, so I have no reason to believe that. They're targeting the same demographic as Abercrombie- the clean cut teen/college student/young adult. They were even in a lawsuit for copying an Abercrombie design.

The public statement made by Abercrombie's CEO does matter. Yes, it can be implied that the store isn't for the fat or "uncool" all day until the cows come home, but the words put that information OUT there. You could assume how he felt all you wanted, but now you KNOW how he feels.
This. It's like shopping at Walmart. You go there because it's cheap. Why is it cheap? Because most/all of their stuff is crap made from China, etc.

I wouldn't go there to shop for quality or American made things, because I'd assume otherwise. And that's fine. Everyone is fine with it and Americans love their Walmart. Now, if the CEO came out saying "We are outsourcing because we hate American workers", that's a different story and I'm sure there would be an uproar.

Not sure why people are so surprised that there's an outcry after the statement the Abercrombie CEO made?
 

milos_mommy

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#98
A lot of Americans are OBLIVIOUS to stuff like this. I guarantee at least 50% of the people who shop at Abercrombie have no idea they don't carry XL or XXL, or that they've had lawsuits for refusing to hire minorities, etc. A good portion of them might hear the CEO say what he said, and not even see it as bullying or problematic, until they turn around and read some of the social media comments.

Heck, do you really think most of the people who shop at wal-mart know where the goods they're buying come from? They might, but I'd bet money that they have NO idea how buying domestically produced goods VS internationally produced goods affects our country or economy. A lot of them probably don't really know what a sweat shop is, or what child labor is. I bet a huge percentage could not tell you the definition of the word "outsourcing".

Most people don't think about where they shop. They either go where it's cheap, easy, and convenient, or they get sucked into going to places with good advertising, whether it's the store's own advertising or the larger industry's as a whole. Very few people look up the stances of the CEOs of stores they frequent, or think about the store's values whatsoever.
 

crazedACD

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#99
For me, the CEO's views weren't common knowledge. I mean, it was obvious that the store was popular and a lot of people wore it. I never realized hey had size cut offs because I'd just grab my own sizes and not pay attention to the others.
A lot of Americans are OBLIVIOUS to stuff like this. I guarantee at least 50% of the people who shop at Abercrombie have no idea they don't carry XL or XXL, or that they've had lawsuits for refusing to hire minorities, etc. A good portion of them might hear the CEO say what he said, and not even see it as bullying or problematic, until they turn around and read some of the social media comments.
Heck, do you really think most of the people who shop at wal-mart know where the goods they're buying come from? They might, but I'd bet money that they have NO idea how buying domestically produced goods VS internationally produced goods affects our country or economy. A lot of them probably don't really know what a sweat shop is, or what child labor is. I bet a huge percentage could not tell you the definition of the word "outsourcing".
I never knew this about Abercrombie, but then again I really never was interested in shopping there, even when I could fit in their clothes. There aren't many places I shop frequently at...I can get most things from the store I work at. I've really been becoming more conscious of where I shop, and do try to research products and buy USA made stuff when I have the option.

A LOT of internet stuff, I don't know what's true and what's not. If I had the choice, I would not shop at my local Wal-Mart, because of poor service and out-of-stock items. I don't think Walmart is as evil as people make it out to be. I've watched a few documentaries on various things, and it seems that Wal-Mart offers products that the consumer wants, period. They are always doing market research. If we as consumers start demanding USA made, they will offer USA made. Unfortunately like you said, a lot of people don't have a clue. The other day a friend of my coworkers' had a hummingbird feeder in her hand, and she says You know what, I don't think I'm going to take this, I can find them cheaper at Walmart. :rolleyes: I explained that it is made in the US, locally owned store, etc etc and she still didn't take it.

Alright, now that I've gone completely off topic, I will step out. :D
 

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