What Can Marketers Learn From the Downfall of Abercrombie & Fitch?

The recent Netflix documentary that highlighted the brand built on exclusion serves as a cautionary tale

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Growing up, I wasn’t one of the cool Abercrombie & Fitch kids. It wasn’t a brand that reflected me, spoke to me or included kids who looked like me. Abercrombie & Fitch was selling a dream, a fantasy that celebrated and centered around thin, white, confident, cool, all-American kids. The brand prided itself on building a fashion empire based on the premise of exclusion.

Former CEO Mike Jeffries’ statements and the “All-American Dream” he built set the stage for the new Netflix documentary, White Hot: The Rise & Fall of Abercrombie & Fitch. And this film is a must-watch for all marketers. Here are three questions marketers should consider on our journey to build brands, as we reflect on the downfall of A&F.

How are you creating a sense of belonging?

Belonging is our human, emotional need to affiliate with and feel accepted by members of a group. When we feel that sense of acceptance, we also feel secure and supported.

Creating genuine feelings of belonging can make our workplaces stronger by improving engagement and performance. Belonging can also strengthen our brand value proposition, allowing us to continue to attract and retain customers.

In the case of A&F, their definition of belonging centered on whiteness at the heart of the perfectly curated, all-American image. They predominantly excluded people of color in their campaigns, on their famous bags and in-store merchandise. They discriminated against hiring people of color to work in their stores, and when they were hired, employees of color were relegated to the back room where they could not be seen.

As marketers, we must constantly interrogate how we are building a sense of belonging. Who are we intentionally or unintentionally excluding on our teams and in the marketplace, and why?

When we say things like “that community” is not part of our target consumer base, can we recognize the bias we are bringing to the table? How can we call out this bias and ask the question: If we have never spoken to this community, included them or reflected them, how do we know that they wouldn’t purchase our brand?

Are you marketing your products responsibly?

A&F perpetuated thinness as an impossible, unattainable standard of beauty. For a company that made its profits in selling clothes, the irony lies in the fact that most of its imagery was of half-naked individuals.

Young men who were perfectly chiseled, sculpted and poised were famously placed on their retail bags. Young women who were tall and incredibly thin were in campaigns and worked as retail associates. In fact, Jeffries had stated in an interview that the brand did not offer clothing sizes above 10 and did not want to include plus-sized women and men.

As marketers, we hold the pen and the power when it comes to the stories we choose to share. We have an enormous responsibility to ensure we are not perpetuating impossible beauty standards that can ultimately lead to eating disorders and addiction issues, harming our consumers’ mental and physical well-being.

Have the hard conversations internally on whether you are truly marketing your products responsibly. Do it before it’s too late—before your consumers and the marketplace have that conversation publicly for you and without you.

How are you reviewing products through an inclusive lens before launching into the market?

One of the biggest money-makers for A&F was graphic T-shirts, with an 85% mark-up. They were positioned as irreverent and funny.

But let’s call them what they were: racist. T-shirts included “Wongs Brothers Laundry Service: Two Wongs Can Make It White” and “Juan More for the Road”—next to a picture of a donkey holding a taco with a sombrero—and a line featuring a clichéd portrait of an oversized Buddha.

Employees said they were under pressure to produce copy and artwork for as many shirts as possible. As a former HR person said in the documentary, “We could put dog shit on a baseball cap and sell it for $40 and people would buy it.” That statement summarizes the excessive hubris, power and privilege A&F felt they held in the marketplace.

As marketers, ask yourself this question: How are you reviewing products through an inclusive lens before they launch? This becomes particularly important when there is pressure to launch as quickly as possible. Do you have a formal review process? Who is sitting at that table reviewing products? Who has the final sign-off?

Remember that you cannot expect one Asian or Hispanic colleague to be the voice of an entire community. Ensure diversity of representation throughout your ecosystem and hire consultants for their expertise for additional support.

Do the work to ensure your products are inclusive, or be prepared for the backlash from consumers and the impact on your bottom line. A&F learned that lesson the hard way.