CC CEO Discussion

Can Abercrombie And Fitch Make A Comeback?

Effective marketing is based on accurately segmenting the target market. In the first video, the CEO states that “A lot of people don’t belong in our clothes, and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely!”

DISCUSSION BOARD PREPARATION:

Watch the following videos:

1. Abercrombie and Fitch Apologize After Plus Size Firestorm (Links to an external site.)
2. H&M CEO: Our Models Are Too Skinn (Links to an external site.)y
3. Plus-Sized Models Target of Online Harassment Through Altered Images (Links to an external site.)
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q-EMD0C8hYQ (Links to an external site.)

DISCUSSION BOARD QUESTIONS:

1. What is your reaction to this? Is the CEO just being an effective marketer by slicing the market to the optimal group for the A&F product? Or does this take segmentation too far?
2. It is said that there is no such thing as bad PR (public relations). What does this mean? Do you think that is the case with A&F?
3. Is fat shaming a significant issue in the U.S.? Do you think that Western Culture leads people to be insecure about their personal body image? What positive things have been done to eliminate fat shaming?