default-output-block.skip-main
BoF Logo

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

Abercrombie Shares Soar After Boosting Full-Year Outlook

Abercrombie & Fitch store
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. soared after hiking its full-year guidance (Shutterstock)

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. soared after hiking its full-year guidance, a sign that some teens and young millennials are still eager to spend if the styles and prices are right.

The bullish outlook also shows that the company’s Abercrombie & Fitch brand, a darling of young shoppers about a decade ago, is fashionable once again. The brand on Wednesday reported its highest second-quarter sales since 2011, executives said, and the 10th consecutive quarter of revenue growth.

Executives said dresses, Abercrombie’s Sloane tailored pant line, the YPB activewear line and apparel for men sold briskly in the most recent quarter — and that the momentum has continued into August.

“We are no longer a jeans and t-shirt brand,” chief executive officer Fran Horowitz told analysts on an earnings call. “We really have expanded into a lot of categories. This young millennial can now wear this brand from work to their weekend getaway.”

Shares rose 21 percent when the market opened in New York to the highest level in a decade.

Abercrombie now sees net sales in the current fiscal year up 10 percent versus a previous forecast of 2 percent to 4 percent. Analysts had been expecting 4 percent. “Even with the guidance raise, we believe 2H guidance still looks conservative,” Citi analyst Paul Lejuez wrote in a research note.

He called Abercrombie & Fitch “the brightest star in the sky,” given how well it’s performing versus most peers.

While some retailers like Kohl’s Corp. and Macy’s Inc. have been struggling to keep sales afloat as shoppers shift their spending away from goods and toward travel and entertainment, brands that are resonating with customers are still doing well. In a separate report on Tuesday, Urban Outfitters Inc. also reported better-than-expected growth in comparable sales in the most recent quarter.

Both Abercrombie and Hollister sold more merchandise with fewer promotions.

Hollister, a brand that caters to teens, had been a drag on Abercrombie’s overall performance until this quarter. “Our playbook is working,” Horowitz said on the earnings call.

By Olivia Rockeman and Jeannette Neumann

Learn more:

Case Study | Abercrombie & Fitch’s Brand Reinvention

Once a staple among American teens, the retailer faltered in the 2010s after failing to keep pace with shifting consumer preferences. But through a strategy rooted in customer centrism, a revamped product offering and changes to the internal structure of the company, the brand’s turnaround is taking hold.


In This Article
Topics
Organisations

© 2023 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Retail
Analysis and advice from the front lines of the retail transformation.

Krishna Nikhil has stepped down for family reasons after just over 18 months at the helm of eco-innovation brand, the company said.


The luggage and lifestyle brand is expanding its product and marketing strategies while launching collaborations and pop-up stores as its founder, Shay Mitchell, eyes expansion and profitability after five years in business. BoF learns more.


Richemont, owner of jeweller Cartier, said on Wednesday it would not inject any cash into online luxury retailer Farfetch, following a report that the latter was exploring going private.



view more

Subscribe to the BoF Daily Digest

The essential daily round-up of fashion news, analysis, and breaking news alerts.

The Business of Fashion

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON
The State of Fashion 2024
© 2023 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and Accessibility Statement.
The State of Fashion 2024