Abercrombie & Fitch Is Having the Worst Year Ever

Image via Complex Original

Date: February 5, 2013

When Abercrombie & Fitch tried to open a shop on the holy menswear ground of Savile Row, they stirred a very well-dressed and tweeded out hornet's nest. Protesters succeeded in getting London’s Westminster Council to declare the proposition "utterly unacceptable."

Date: May 3, 2013

Buzzfeed obtained an Abercrombie & Fitch internal document that spells out in painstaking detail how workers have to dress. Details such as cuff height, shirttail length, and other hilariously overthought minutiae are given the step-by-step treatment, just going to show how corporate the entity that's trying to sell a "casual" look is.

Date: May 3, 2013

Business Insider reminded the world of CEO Mike Jeffries's comments regarding the brand's main marketing techniques. The unfortunate-looking man revealed that, "A lot of people don’t belong [in our clothes], and they can’t belong. Are we exclusionary? Absolutely." 

The Internet went nuts with this one, and we made sure to round up the most hilarious and creative memes that mocked Jeffries and his company.

Date: May 30, 2013

After the whole "cool kids only" gaffe, it came out that Abercrombie only allowed its corporate office employees to wear the brand they worked for. But since the company doesn't make girl's clothing above a size 10, many women had to squeeze themselves into cloting made for teens, or wear men's clothing.

Humiliating enough that all corporate employees had to wear shitty-looking gear, but ill-fitting too? We'd be hitting up headhunters on our first day.

Date: June 20, 2013

Maybe after such a volatile spring and early summer, Abercrombie was just trying to blow off some steam with a little humor. But hell hath no fury like a "Swiftie" scorned. A petition was quickly drawn up, and A&F had no choice but to pull the shirt from its shelves. Another day, another T-shirt scandal at Abercrombie.

Date: July 10, 2013

In case you were still doubting how out of touch Abercrombie & Fitch is with the general world of style, they instituted a store and office-wide ban of black clothing. The official statement read, “Abercrombie & Fitch does not sell black clothing and discourages wearing it at our home office and in our stores, because we are a casual lifestyle brand and feel black clothing is formal." Pretty sweeping statement, but don't worry! "We have nothing against black clothing and feel it is perfectly appropriate for things like tuxedos." 

Though let's be honest, if you were shopping at Abercrombie looking for stylish clothes, you have a bigger problem than not being able to cop black clothing.

Date: July 25, 2013

The watchdog group believed that the models were actually sales associates, and therefore should not be hired based on their looks or abs. “Though physical appearance may legitimately be a key and determining professional factor for models, that’s not so for sales staff,” the investigative group stated. Results are pending until the end of 2013, a.k.a. Abercrombie's worst year ever.

Date: August 22, 2013

Stodgy financial reporters stated what everyone already knew: Abercrombie & Fitch were no longer cool. "The teen retailers seem to be not in style or in vogue at this point in time for their target consumers," Bryan Keane, portfolio manager of the Alpine Global Consumer Growth Fund, told Business Insider. "That usually does not turn around quickly." Now it was official; The numbers were reflecting the shitty business and marketing practices of Abercrombie.

Date: September 17, 2013

The site's sources stated that Abercrombie & Fitche is absolutely bleeding money, saying the company was experiencing a "meltdown" that showed no signs of getting better. Only a few more months until Abercrombie & Fitch can put 2013 in the books, and then only another month before CEO Mike Jeffries' contract is up.