Stakeholder #2

Who's Up Second?

The next stakeholder we are going to be looking at Abercrombie and Fitch as a company.

Username Unsplash. "Fashion Mall Shopping Stores Shops Clothes" 4/7/15 via pixabay. Creative Commons 0 Public Domain License

What Are They Like?

The Abercrombie and Fitch company is a broad description. Instead of taking on the company as a whole, we can deal with the physical persona of A & F, which is the physical stores themselves. What do the stores look like? The stores appear the same as any other clothing store on the outside, but the inside is way different. First you are hit with the smell from the store, the smell of overpowering cologne. How the employees operate in the store without passing out is unknown. If you manage to make it into the store, you'll encounter models that normally don't look like human beings. Although they claim to not discriminate against who they hire, they still usually hire the best looking candidates. It's usually hard to get away from past tendencies, so they probably prefer certain employees over others. If you go onto the website for A & F, it appears like most other websites for teens. It has a bunch of models that don't look like humans, but rather perfect looking human beings. The only problem with A & F is that they've been slowly declining ever since 2013, and have been out of style for many years prior to that. Competitors that were once chasing them in sales are now beginning to leave A & F in the dust, as they prosper in sales.

What Have They Said?

"We sincerely regret and apologize for any offense caused by the comments we have made in the past which are contrary to (the values of diversity and inclusion)," This Statement was released by A & F after Benjamin O'Keefe presented a petition of 68,000 signatures to A & F saying how they felt about the company's policies. You can find the article here.

“Succession planning in the boardroom today is topic No. 1. Selection of a CEO is the most important duty a board has.” This was said after Jeffries stepped down as CEO by Arthur Martinez found here.

“The next step forward requires someone with somewhat different skills than Mike, and someone who’s acutely aware of the disruption that’s coming in the industry -- the emerging dominance of online and omnichannel retailing -- someone who can strategically navigate those waters.” Said by Arthur Martinez here.

Are the Claims Valid?

These claims seem to definitely be valid and credible, as two of them were said by a board member in Abercrombie and Fitch. It was straight from the source rather than a lower level employee making conjectures about the company. These comments also carried weight in the fact that it showed that A & F was going in a new direction rather than staying in the past. The shareholder cites facts, and doesn't tend to mess with our emotions. The quotes are straight forward and prove that the company Abercrombie and Fitch is changing, but better late than never.

Similar or Different?

Before later 2013, the claims of A & F as a company were right on board with Jeffries' statements. They supported his voice and his opinions just as most companies do with their CEO's. As time went on they started to appeal more to the people they originally they disagreed with, the women that were outraged. A & F slowly became more sensitive and realized that they had been fighting a war that they simply could not win, with the way that the world was changing. They started having more in common with the same people they originally discriminated against, because they knew that if they were to stop their ship from sinking, it was to cut their losses and basically say "I'm sorry" to the people they once offended. The first part of saying sorry was to get Jeffries to step down as CEO. Then the healing process could begin.