Abercrombie & Fitch made a huge comeback with Gen Z shoppers. Here's where it started versus how it's going.

"The 130-year-old retailer got its catering to fishing and hunting enthusiasts, but by the late 1990s, the brand bore little resemblance to its outdoorsy origins. Its dimly lit, heavily scented stores - known primarily for their shirtless male models and narrow range of sizes - presented a brand of cool that seemed off-limits to anyone who wasn't thin, white, and well-off."

"In recent years, the brand has seen a resurgence in popularity thanks to a new, more inclusive image: it revamped its stores, expanded its size range, and made its pricing more approachable. The changes have been paying off: Abercrombie & Fitch, which also owns Hollister, reported record first-quarter sales of $1 billion in 2024, a 22% jump year over year, and higher sales in Q1 2025."

"However, there are signs the company's meteoric rise back to the top is slowing. The Abercrombie brand's sales dipped 5% during its second quarter of 2025 - for the second consecutive quarter - though growth at Hollister helped grow the overall company's sales. Another challenge complicating Abercrombie's comeback is tariffs. Like many other brands, the retailer is trying to navigate higher costs from the Trump administration's tariffs."

Abercrombie & Fitch began as an outdoor-gear store in the late 1800s and became a dominant teen retailer in the 2000s. The brand cultivated an exclusionary image with dimly lit, heavily scented stores and narrow sizing, which led to controversies and legal challenges in the 2010s. A strategic overhaul introduced more inclusive sizing, brighter stores, and friendlier pricing, driving a resurgence with Gen Z and record first-quarter sales of $1 billion in 2024, a 22% year-over-year increase, followed by higher sales in Q1 2025. Growth cooled in 2025 with a 5% dip in Abercrombie brand sales in Q2, while tariffs from the Trump administration raise cost pressures for the retailer.

Read at Business Insider