Marcus in America! | What Does Desperation Say?

Hey readers! I hope all of you had an exciting start to October. I had a great 19th birthday last Tuesday and a small get-together with old friends from high school Saturday.

Well, certainly you've all noticed Abercrombie & Fitch Co.'s recent ventures in pop culture and mainstream via "What does the Fox say?" references (need I remind you of this video?) and Hollister's recent partnership with Keds. Naturally, these are all more attempts to get customers in stores after their disappointing second quarter sales. If you want a summary, you can find my post about it here. However, simply referencing pop culture isn't enough to ease customers back into the brand... So now they have two contests going on quite late into the BTS/Fall 2013 fashion season. I will describe them both and analyze them.

Official details can be found here.

A&F is giving away roughly US$930 worth of merchandise to two lucky winners for simply applying online or by text message. Now, that is almost $2000 worth of merchandise. Personally I see that as "grasping at straws." It's a particularly expensive contest that I don't see helping much. Although, I did still sign up for it. What the heck, right?

Official details can be found here.

The second contest by Hollister requires in-store participation (recall: Hollister lost the highest percentage of shoppers, thirteen percent, during the Second Quarter of 2013), and I certainly won't be participating. If you thought the A&F contest was costly, the Hollister contest will really surprise you. Apparently, it requires customers to go in-stores and scan Hollister sweatshirts (via the smartphone app) for a chance to win a sweatshirt (max value of US$69.50). Seventy winners will be selected, and I just did the math: the contest will cost at least US$4,865 for the Company.

It's a well known tactic in the retail industry to drive revenue by using contests to lure customers. However, I'm not sure if A&F's contests have had positive effects on the its income yet. I would love to hear about the contest's impact on customers in-store from any Hollister employees.

Have a comment? Leave it below!

Later,

Marcus

Featured Goods of the Week! | September 3 through September 9...

The "-ber" months have begun! Indulge in the hottest sweaters as you prep-up for #FallCool. ...Check out this week's featured goods!
	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH M  E  N PANTHER GORGE SWEATER NAVY US$78 (MORE)
	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH W  O  M  E  N BRITTAN SWEATER MARLED NAVY STRIPE US$68 (MORE)
	abercrombie g  u  y  s bartlett ridge sweater heather gray US$69.50 (more)
	abercrombie g  i  r  l  s gwen sweater red stripe US$39.50 (more)
	HOLLISTER Co. D  U  D  E  S PACIFIC COAST SWEATER RED US$44.50 (MORE)
	HOLLISTER Co. B  E  T  T  Y  S HOBSON SHINE SWEATER  MARLED GRAY US$44.95 (MORE)
	GILLY HICKS G  I  R  L  S OMBRE SWEATER  GREEN US$44.50 (MORE)

Cameron in Scotland! | Hollister Back-to-School 2013 Styles Review...

Hey Dudes & Bettys!

How are y'all? First, I want to talk about the positives of the current collection at Hollister. I love some of the pieces in this Back-to-School lineups, such as the Scripps Pier Shirt and the Solana Beach Shirt. I also really like the North Jetty Hoodie. I've chosen a few of my favourite items and outlined them below:

Top left, clockwise:

-Solana Beach Shirt - blue & green - £44

-Scripps Pier Shirt - red plaid - £44
-All-Weather Jacket - red - £99

-North Jetty Hoodie - navy - £59

-SoCal Cologne - 1.7-4.2 FL OZ - £39-£56

Now for some items that I'm not so keen on. I really detest the new graphic print tees. Especially the "humor" ones... Take a look below:

Top left, clockwise:

-Surfriders Beach Tee - heather grey - £19

-Boneyard Beach Tee - white & green - £19

-Boneyard Beach Tee - white & orange - £19

-Boneyard Beach Tee - white & blue - £19

-Jake Cologne - 1-1.7 FL OZ - £26-£38

SoCal and Jake colognes are not new this season, of course, but just make for nice inclusions. What do you think of the new stuff? Any thoughts on my selections? Drop me a comment below and I'll be sure to reply!

Stay FIERCE!
~Cameron

Cameron in Scotland! | Much FIERCE Updates...

Hey Dudes & Bettys!

How are y'all? There has been so much going on in the past few weeks in the world of A&F. I've collected some of the biggest updates, along with a very exciting exclusive! So let's get started...

EXCLUSIVE! THE A&F BRANDS ARE COMING TO BRAZIL!

Yes, you read that right. A&F is expanding into the Brazilian market! While there has been no official word from the Company, an employment website has stated that the company has opportunities for the MIT program in Brazil, along with other locations, such as Dubai, the USA and Australia. Following previous international expansion patterns, the Hollister brand should come first, then followed by A&F. Although, they could decide to launch an A&F flagship first? Maybe, maybe not. This is just in time for the FIFA World Cup in Summer 2014 & the Rio Olympics in 2016. Where do you think A&F will launch first? Could it be in the high-fashion Sao Paulo or in the centre of all the sporting madness in Rio de Janeiro? Let me know in the comments below!

HOLLISTER HAS TEAMED UP WITH KEDS SNEAKERS!

Hollister has just revealed that they have teamed up with Keds to bring the hottest Betty's some exclusive sneakers! The exclusive designs are only avaliable on the Hollister Co website, so head on over there and order some! Buy them now for: $40-$45 (USA); £39-£42 (UK).

EVERYBODY WINS AT HCo. & A&F STORES!

The opportunities continue on! Head to a Hollister or A&F store in the USA or Canada, any weekend (Friday through Sunday) or on Labor Day, to get a unique code. When you text your code to the number stated on the card, you could instantly win either a pair of jeans or a giftcard! Check out the official Hollister & A&F websites for information on the prize draw and the excluded stores. But be quick, as this is coming to an end on the 1st of September 2013!

GILLY HICKS AT HOLLISTER Co. STORES!

Selected Hollister Co. stores now stock Gilly Hicks products! But check out which selected stores carry the GH products on the Hollister store locator online hollisterco.com. This is only for a limited time, so you better get down there quick!

'FIND IN STORE' WEBSITE FEATURE!

On every product detail page, you will find a tab entitled 'Find In Store'. This feature then searches in the stores around you to find which one has the product in stock you want! This is such a brilliant idea, and make good use of it, especially if you are only going in store for just the one product...but who can really do that? ;)

Anyhow, that's all I have time for this week. Let me know what y'all think of the updates that I've included in this post...leave a comment and voice your opinion on whatever!

Stay FIERCE!
~Cameron

Marcus in America! | Abercrombie & Fitch American Made...

Hey all! I know that I'm trying to post on Mondays, but I've had a hectic week preparing for college which starts this Monday for me. Introductions aside, allow me to discuss A&F's newest clothing line, American Made!

As you probably know, Abercrombie & Fitch is a fairly exclusive brand. When they started to launch Flagship stores globally, their exclusive Flasgship only clothes began showing up online. Before that, there was the Ezra Fitch line. You can find information about that in this post.

Anyway, A&F has recently launched American Made - something you must have already noticed, of course - which is probably the Ezra Fitch line's spiritual successor. It includes high quality clothing made inside the USA. In a perfect world, all our clothes would be made in our respective countries... but that simply isn't the case. It's much cheaper to have the clothes made in third world country' "sweat shops;" a practice used worldwide that is very controversial.

The American Made line is very cool, though! It includes flannel shirts, henleys, long sleeve crew neck tees, denim jackets, jeans, and a 100% virgin wool, plaid stadium blanket.

Picture courtesy of A&F's official Facebook page

As you can see, the entire line is very light on logos besides the American Made stamps.

Well that's all from me this time! Share with me what your favorite items are from the line. I wish you all a happy weekend.

Marcus

Marcus in America! | Abercrombie & Fitch Mens Activewear Line...

Hey everyone! Happy Monday (well as happy as a Monday can be).

Abercrombie & Fitch Co. has recently launched a new clothing line for men. The line is called A&F Active, and Hollister also has one called Hollister Sport. Of course, this comes after the Back-to-School 2013 introduction of GH Sport for girls over at Gilly Hicks. From what I can tell on the websites, the materials are very similar to American sports retailer Underarmor. The A&F and HCo lines for guys include t-shirts, pull overs, jackets, shorts, sweatpants, and boxer briefs...

This is an example of a t-shirt from the line.
As you can see, the preview size is medium and not small.
May probably mean it’s a fairly tight fit considering activewear.

Personally, it seems like an awkward time to launch such a line after the recent bad PR in May over body image. A&F’s stocks have seemingly not benefited from it either. On another point, to be fair, their classic sweatpants are really bulky and not meant for the gym so I will probably pick up a pair of the active sweatpants in the near future.

NYSE: 'ANF' stocks (source)

Only time will tell if this clothing line will help out Abercrombie & Fitch; and as an A&F enthusiast, I really want things to work out...

Later,
Marcus

Get the Look! | Ashley Hinshaw Abercrombie & Fitch "Stars on the Rise" Outfits...

Glowing with a classic radiance of golden Americana, actor Ashley Hinshaw's quintessential photography, by our icon Bruce Weber, evoke artistically a timeless ideal of nature, labor, and freedom. Her pieces worn in the photos are denim works by Abercrombie & Fitch following in step with all-American casual attitude. For the July 11 celebratory launch party of this wonderful Back-to-School 2013 "Stars on the Rise" campaign, our girl Ashley shined in a chic, fun, casual-cool look on the red carpet at A&F The Grove in Los Angeles. In this Get the Look! post, The Sitch on Fitch provides you with style-aid on how to piece together your own hot, Ashley-inspired looks! Out of all the goods currently available by Abercrombie & Fitch, the only exact item worn by Ashley that we could find were her shorts from the LA party. The rest of the suggested pieces in this post are the fashionably closest matches to complete the looks... Enjoy!
	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH W  O  M  E  N HADLEY DENIM JACKET DARK WASH US$98 (MORE)
	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH W  O  M  E  N KIRAN DENIM SHIRT LIGHT WASH ONLINE ONLY ITEM US$68 (MORE)
	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH W  O  M  E  N A&F SKINNY JEANS DESTROYED LIGHT WASH US$88 (MORE)
	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH W  O  M  E  N BEAUTIFUL SHINE NECKLACE GRAY W/EMBELLISHED SILVER FLAGSHIP EXCLUSIVE ITEM US$68 (MORE)
	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH W  O  M  E  N KENDALL LACE SWEATSHIRT HEATHER GRAY W/LACE FRONT FLAGSHIP EXCLUSIVE ITEM US$68 (MORE)
	ABERCROMBIE & FITCH W  O  M  E  N A&F HIGH-RISE SHORTS EMBELLISHED DARK WASH US$78 (MORE)

Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister Co. Redesigned Mobile Apps!

Hey, it's your Scotsman contributor Cameron here with good news folks! Since the launch of Back-to-School 2013, the Company has updated both the A&F and Hollister Co. mobile apps! I've had a look at both of them and they are pretty good!

I like the Hollister one especially, which you can download – if you haven't already! – on both the Apple App Store (discover more) & the Google Play Store (discover more). Here are a few details from it:

And here is some info from the A&F App

Exclusively on the Apple App Store (discover more)...

Stay FIERCE...on the go!