Established by David Abercrombie in 1892, Abercrombie & Fitch Co., did not take on its official name until 1904, when Ezra Fitch became co-owner. Ezra Fitch had previously been a prominent New York attorney, and he left his practice and bought major shares in the company. Until that point, he had only been one of the stores biggest customers. The store began as an upscale sporting goods store, in Manhattan. Read on for the facts Regarding Abercrombie company history.
Unfortunately, the partnership did not last, and it ended in 1907. There were many disagreements over the direction of the business. Abercrombie wanted to remain in the business of strictly selling sporting goods, while Fitch wanted sell items that would appeal to more people. When Abercrombie sold out to Fitch, he simply got other partners and continued the business.
Fitch continued with his expansions, and they nearly ran him into bankruptcy, however, they did pay off in many ways. Abercrombie and Fitch put out their first catalog in 1909. It cost them a dollar each to publish them, which was a small fortune in that time period. The catalogs were given away free to any customers that visited the store. The were able to make their historical landmark by being the first New York store to sell clothing to men and women. In 1913, when the moved, they started a sportswear line, and in 1917, they moved to a twelve story building on Madison Avenue, of which they occupied all twelve stories. They became the first American store to import Mahjong. A customer inquired about the game she had played in China, Fitch had it imported, translated into English, and A&F became the center for Mahjong.
Charles Lindberg wore an outfit supplied by A&F in 1927, when he made his historic flight over the Atlantic Ocean. When Fitch retired in 1928, he sold all of his shares, and they were purchased by James Cobb, who was his brother-in-law. Cobb ended up purchasing several other companies while in charge.
The depression affected A&F just as it did every other business, and it was 1938 before they could even begin to recover. Though they did alright during the sixties, buy the seventies, they were not doing well. They ended up filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1977. A retail chain purchased them in 1978, and tried to revive them by opening new stores. That particular retail chain was Oshman’s.
By 1988, Limited had purchased A&F, but it was still in trouble. Michael Jeffries became the president and decided to direct the market toward teen clothing. The teen market seemed to be the best way for the business to go financially, and it was a success. What would Abercrombie & Fitch have thought about the LFO Song, Summer Girls? Fitch probably would have appreciated the free advertising.
Today, the company is still going, and going as strong as can be expected, with the economy in the state it is in. Teenagers rate them the sixth most popular brand. You have run quite the race A&F, keep on running. Now we all know the real story about Abercrombie company history.
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