Teen retailer Abercrombie & Fitch (ANF) is ditching racks of clothing plastered with the company’s logo. As store sales continue to slide, it’s trying a new strategy: Selling t-shirts and sweatshirts that have no gaudy corporate emblem stitched in.
The company, which reported a decline for the tenth straight time for its quarterly same-store sales, faces increasingly stiff competition from low-price chains including H&M and Forever 21. Sales slipped 6% year-over year to $891 million in the most recent quarter.
“In the spring season we are looking to take the North American logo business to practically nothing,” CEO Mike Jeffries said on a conference call. “[For] North America, we’d want to be out of the logo business essentially by next spring. It will remain a factor in the rest of the world.”
In another change-up, Abercrombie has started selling larger sizes for women and cutting prices, Coins2Day reported in May. Much of its competition sells clothes at cheaper prices and have gain ground, particularly with teens.
Shares of Abercrombie were down by as much as 8.5% Thursday morning. Meanwhile, the company also announced Thursday it’s shutting down 60 stores once their leases expire.
On the upside, the company said that there’s some progress with stocking more trendy attire, especially for its back-to-school sales.
