Kensao

Abercrombie And Fitch – The Greatest Success Story Of The Past 20 Years?

One of the great success stories of the last twenty years has been Abercrombie and Fitch. The company has actually been in existence for well over a hundred years. The company was originally founded to sell clothing and goods for hiking and sports in the nineteenth century, and in an early example of product placement, was worn by several writers including Steinbeck, and even a few U.S. Presidents. However, it’s really only been since the the late eighties when the company was bought out by the Limited and re-invented that Abercrombie and Fitch really developed to the level that it is today that you can’t walk down a street without seeing at least two or three people dressed in Abercrombie hoodies. Far more than the great high fashion houses of France and Italy, Abercrombie and Fitch have become known as the great label worn by the under 30s.

The company itself has been involved in controversy several times in the last decade, but has recently posted profits in excess of $1.5 billion, and business is booming. Abercrombie clothing is stylish, modern, and seen as associated with an outdoor or sporty lifestyle.

Abercrombie has also expanded hugely outside of just the US, and maintains a European headquarters in Italy, and stores in the UK, France, Italy, Canada, and Germany. Its success in Europe and North America is really a lesson to the more traditional fashion houses in how to market yourself, and Abercrombie and Fitch are extremely close to global dominance, if they’re not there already.

Why Nike Are Still Top After All These Years

It’s fair to say that Nike Air Jordan shoes have been one of the best selling shoes of all time.Nike first released their Air Jordans for sale in 1984, and it all took off from there. The shoe did almost more than anything else to change Nike’s image away from the “white man’s jogging shoe” and cement their reputation as being one of the top shoes for basketball, and leisurewear in general. They also changed the traditional color of basketball shoes from white to whatever color you want. This came originally at a cost to Nike, as the NBA banned the Air Jordan (and the Nike Dunk) from its matches, and fined any player wearing them $5000 per match. Michael Jordan was notable in his flouting of the rules, and his fines were met by Nike, who, it must be said, probably recouped far more back in shoe sales. Nike never looked backed after that, and the shoe today is in its 18^th incarnation, with sales running into the millions (not bad at $190+ per pair). Nike as a brand rose solely on the shoes and escaped the financial troubles they had in the early 80s due to its image change from the Air Jordan shoes.

Today, even after 25 years, they’re still one of the best selling shoes around. Very few of the people wearing Air Jordan shoes actually play basketball, but it gives the aspiration to people, and the feel that they can buy in to the whole culture helped by Nike.