Abercrombie & Fitch

I decided to do my next blog on one of the name brands I was never able to have until recently because of its extremely outrageous price. Abercrombie and Fitch carries casual clothing and various accessories including several colognes and perfumes, that smell extremely good just for the record. This company includes over 300 stores including children stores named "abercrombie" without the Fitch added at the end.

The brand was first launched in 1892 by David T. Abercrombie, which explains the year printed on all of the clothing. The thing I found the most interesting of all my research was that this extremely fashionable line of clothing was originally an hunting gear, fishing gear and outdoor gear supplier. This first shop was a "small waterfront shop in downtown New York." David Abercrombie was a very successful man, born and raised in Maryland. He was a designer of tents, rucksacks and other camping equipment therefore it was his passion for the great outdoors that inspired him to start this business. It was mostly professional hunters, fishers, explorers, etc that were customers in these stores. Ezra Fitch, a very successful lawyer in Kingston, New York had become to rely on David's company and therefore became one of the most frequent customers. Because of his extremely loyalty to the business he convinced David to let him become a partner with him in 1900. In 1904 the shop moved to 314 Broadway and the name changed to Abercrombie and Fitch. Both men had two completely different views of the future of the company. David wasted to continue selling outdoor gear and keep the business small the way it was, meanwhile, Ezra wanted to expand the store and change the retail to help please more of a general public. After several very heated arguments, David decided to resign from the company in 1907. This however did not affect the companies expansion. Fitch continued to make changes to the company and transformed it into a sporting goods shop and the goods were no longer kept in glass cases but were out in the open for customers to touch and try out. The salesmen were all experienced outdoors men and in 1913 the store moved to Fifth Avenue and started selling men and woman sports clothing. By 1917, Abercrombie and Fitch was a 12 story building located on the corner of Madison Avenue and 45th Street and was known as one of the biggest sporting goods store in the world. There was many different things you could do there including, fishing, shooting, golfing, camping and there was ever dog and cat kennels you could visit. It also organized a lot of successful exploration expeditions such as the Theodore Roosevelt trip to Africa and the Amazon. In 1928 Ezra Fitch decided he wanted to enjoy the remainder of his years enjoying the outdoors for himself therefore he retired from the business. In the late 60's the store when bankrupt but managed to get back on its feet when taken over by The Limited Inc in 1988 and in 1992 was transformed into a casual apparel business. In 1996, The Limited Inc got 84% of everything the company made but finally became independent in 1998.

Abercrombie and Fitch is now a very successful company loved by teens and adults everywhere. I personally love the product, but unfortunately the closest retailer is at Sommerset mall in the states and I don't travel to the states often therefore I don't have much. 



http://www.fragrancex.com/products/_bid_abercrombie---am---fitch-am-cid_perfume-am-lid_a__brand_history.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/abercrombie-fitch-history-2011-4#

Aéropostale, Inc

For my third blog I decided to do one of the most popular names brands in society today. Aéropostale, Inc is a apparel and accessories store with 14 – 17 year old women and men in mind through its Aéropostale store. It targets 4 – 12 year old children in its P.S from Aéropostale stores. This company carries a variety of high-quality, fashionable clothing that they design, create, market and sell all on their own. Similar to many other brands, these products can be purchased either in the store or online at www.Aéropostale.com. or www.ps4u.com. Aéropostale was first conceived by R.H. Macy & Co. Inc. in the early 1980s with the targeted audience being people aged around 20. The first store was opened in 1987 in the New York area, hens that year and NYC being printed on all of the clothing. In 1995, the company was sold to Bear Stearns Merchant Banking and is still owned by them today and is also chaired by Julian Geiger. Many people may wonder where they found the name Aéropostale from. Well, Compagnie Generale Aéropostale was an airmail company and was the first to fly between France, South Africa and South America. The first Aéropostale stores embraced this with the design of the first stores and and leather bomber jackets that they sold. There are currently 914 Aéro stores in the United States and Puerto Rico, 75 stores in Canada and various stores in the Middle East, Asia and Europe.

In 2009 Aéropostale launched their children line called P.S from Aéropostale. This branch of Aéro now has 97 locations in 22 states, and is still expanding. There was also another branch of Aéropostale, that embraced skate and surf wear but unfortunately was not as successful as P.S and had to close down in 2009 due to only having 5 stores opened and not being able to open any more. 

I personally love this brand because it is very affordable and my style. All of their clothing is of great quality and the staff in all the locations is always very friendly. I really wish they would have had the childrens line when I was younger because it seems to be a very cute clothing line. I also find it very interesting hat the company has stores in the Middle East, Asia and Europe. Definitely one of my favourite stores to shop in! 

http://www.aeropostale.com/corp/
http://www.shopathome.com/online-shopping-report/index.php/history-of-aeropostale
http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=131103&p=irol-faq

Hollister Co.

 Hollister was created by John M. Hollister. He graduated from Yale University at the age of 21 and the traveled to the Dutch East Indies in 1917. He then fell in love and with his new lover he purchased a boat and they traveled across the South Pacific Ocean and visited different places learning about different cultures. When they arrived in Los Angeles in 1919 they got married and had a child named John M. Hollister Jr. in 1920. Because his son loved the ocean as much as him he decided to create Hollister Co. in 1922 in Laguana Beach. When John Jr. took over this company in 1957 he started to bring in surf apparel and equipment. 

This story you just read is actually not true. It was created by Mike Jeffries to create more of a surfer, beach like atmosphere for the shopper. The first Hollister store was opened in July 2000 in Columbus, Ohio at the Easton Town Centre. The product is designed to attract shoppers aged between 14 and 18. Hollister products can be purchased in the store and online. The stores also have the look based on a life guard house to give the feeling of being in a surf shop. In mid January of 2006 the first Canadian Hollister store opened in 2006 along with an Abercrombie and Fitch. Shortly after this in the summer of 2007, several TVs were installed in Hollister stores that played a live feed from the Surf City Huntington Beach to increase the feeling of the surf hut atmosphere. On October 25, 2008 Hollister opened its first international store in London, England. In December of that same year they opened their second store in the UK, and shortly afterward, a third. Hollister continues to expand and attract more and more customers. I personally love this brand. Their clothing is very comfortable and reasonably priced considering the quality of the product. I would love it if there was a store closer to Windsor considering the closest store in Canada is in Toronto.  

I don't know why the company decided to create this fictional story but I must admit it is quite interesting to read and ponder upon. It also makes a lot of sense considering the theme of all Hollister stores in a surf theme. A lot of people complain about how dark the stores are and how strong the aroma is but I personally like the atmosphere in Hollister stores. I find the dim lighting is relaxing and what girl doesn't love the smell of Hollister cologne? 

http://hcohounds.tumblr.com/post/276422881
http://thehollisterco1922.piczo.com/post/66103/
http://business.transworld.net/8642/features/how-hollister-co-stole-surf-eight-years-after-abercrombie-fitch-invaded-the-surf-market-what-can-be-done-to-defend-against-them/