Abercrombie & Fitch to debut new store concept

Ailing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is keen to revolutionise its brand image, starting with rolling out a new store concept. Gone will be the cloud of overbearing fragrance and mega wattage of thumping music, making way for a cleaner and more inclusive image to appeal to its twenty-something demographic.

The company is to debut the first new store in Columbus, Ohio on 17 February, echoing the brand's evolution and creative vision, the first overhaul of its retail concept in 15 years. Six other stores are expected to follow, as the company aims to reclaim the high street success it once enjoyed in the nineties.

Abercrombie to use its logo from the early 1900s

The new store is designed by MJ Sagan Architecture and features separate shop-in-shops for denim and fragrance, innovative ‘suite’ fitting rooms, customer-friendly checkouts, omnichannel capabilities, and storefronts featuring a metal sculpture of an A&F logo first used in the early 1900s, “The new Abercrombie & Fitch store design illustrates a strong brand, with a rich history that is evolving and moving forward,” said MJ Sagan. “A cohesive material palette, an elevated collection and residential scale elements enhance the personal, more intimate aspect of the A&F shopping experience.”

“It is important that our stores reflect what the Abercrombie & Fitch brand is today, so we`ve created a new space for our customers, that is warm, inviting, inclusive and open,” said Stacia Andersen, brand president of Abercrombie & Fitch and abercrombie kids.

The store has taken on board experiential merchandising, and collections will be displayed to inspire the customer and showcase how pieces can be mixed together. A 36-foot concrete runway with 40 mannequins will be greeting customs as they walk in.“It’s very long and intended to be very dramatic,” Andersen told WWD. “The reason we put the platform down the middle of the store is that our customer loves to see different ways to mix and match.”

The roomy fitting rooms will be a draw for shoppers allowing for privacy with a friend or family complete with controllers for lighting, music and mobile phone charging docks.

Photo credit: Abercrombie & Fitch/p>