{"id":17762,"date":"2013-05-11T06:50:26","date_gmt":"2013-05-11T10:50:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theredphoenixapl.org\/?p=17762"},"modified":"2013-05-11T06:50:26","modified_gmt":"2013-05-11T10:50:26","slug":"abercrombie-fitch-refuses-to-make-xl-and-xxl-womens-clothes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/redphoenix.news\/es\/2013\/05\/abercrombie-fitch-refuses-to-make-xl-and-xxl-womens-clothes\/","title":{"rendered":"Abercrombie & Fitch Refuses To Make XL and XXL Womens\u2019 Clothes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"abercrombie-and-fitch\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

by<\/span> Ashley Lutz<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teen retailer <\/span>Abercrombie & Fitch<\/span><\/a><\/span> doesn’t stock XL or XXL sizes in women’s clothing because they don’t want overweight women wearing their brand.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

They want the “cool kids,” and they don’t consider plus-sized women as being a part of that group.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abercrombie is sticking to its guns of conventional beauty, even as that standard becomes outdated.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrast Abercrombie with H&M, another favorite with the teen set, who just subtly<\/span> introduced a plus-sized<\/span><\/a><\/span> model in its latest swimwear collection.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

H&M has a<\/span> plus-sized line<\/span><\/a><\/span>. American Eagle, Abercrombie’s biggest competitor, offers up to size XXL for men and women.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abercrombie doesn’t even list women’s XL or XXL<\/span> on its size chart.<\/span><\/a> <\/span>Its largest women’s pants are a size 10, while H&M’s standard line goes up to a size 16, and American Eagle offers up to 18.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s not surprising that Abercrombie excludes plus-sized women considering the attitude of CEO Mike Jeffries, said Robin Lewis, co-author of The New Rules of Retail and CEO of newsletter The Robin Report.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“He doesn’t want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people,” Lewis told<\/span> Business Insider<\/span><\/a><\/span>. “He doesn’t want his core customers to see people who aren’t as hot as them wearing his clothing. People who wear his clothing should feel like they’re one of the ‘cool kids.'”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The only reason Abercrombie offers XL and XXL men’s sizes is probably to appeal to beefy football players and wrestlers, Lewis said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We asked the company why it doesn’t offer larger sizes for women. A spokeswoman told us that Abercrombie wasn’t available to provide a comment.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a 2006<\/span> interview with Salon<\/span><\/a><\/span>, Jeffries himself said that his business was built around sex appeal.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s almost everything. That\u2019s why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don\u2019t market to anyone other than that,\u201d<\/span> Jeffries said<\/span><\/a><\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffries also told Salon that he wasn’t bothered by excluding some customers.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids,\u201d he told the site. \u201cCandidly, 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\u2019t belong [in our clothes], and they can\u2019t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jeffries said he thinks that including everyone would make his business boring.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don\u2019t alienate anybody, but you don\u2019t excite anybody, either,” he told Salon.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

While a specialty retailer like Abercrombie can’t be expected to appeal to everyone, the brand’s standard of beauty is quickly becoming stale.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Plus-sized is no longer a niche market: 67 percent of the apparel purchasing population<\/span> fit that label<\/span><\/a><\/span>, and the number is growing all the time.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For too long, this sizable and growing segment has been ignored,” writes Margaret Bogenrief at ACM Partners.<\/span> “Treated shabbily<\/span><\/a><\/span>, ostracized by the<\/span> \u201cpro-skinny fashion world,\u201d<\/span><\/a> <\/span>and seemingly discarded by designers, department stores, and retailers alike, plus-size fashion consumers, critics, and bloggers are taking back their spending and sartorial power and, in turn, changing both the e-commerce and retailing landscapes.”<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ignoring this “revolution” could be costly for businesses, Bogenrief writes.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More brands are featuring curvy, “real-sized,” models.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to H&M’s Jennie Runk, Dove’s wildly popular “Real Beauty” campaign highlights women who aren’t as thin as traditional models.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

But it’s unlikely that Abercrombie will ever sway from its image, Lewis told us.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Abercrombie is only interested in people with washboard stomachs who look like they’re about to jump on a surfboard,” Lewis said.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source<\/span><\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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