LAUNCHED IN 2010, THE SITCH ON FITCH BECAME THE INSPIRED, RESPECTED BRAND OF PASSION OVER THE ACHIEVEMENTS AND PRESTIGE OF ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO. (ADMIRATION FOR ITS PAST GOING BACK TO 1892 AND FOR THE MODERN-TIME HEIGHTS OF THE MIKE JEFFRIES ERA); IT WAS OFFICIALLY, POSITIVELY RECOGNIZED BY A&F HOME OFFICE BY APRIL 2012, WITH A DIRECT EMAIL TO THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, DURING ITS GROWTH AS THE ONE-OF-A-KIND, MULTINATIONAL ONLINE PUBLICATION, WITH HIGH-GRADE PRESENTATION WHICH EVOLVED OVER ITS RUN, FOR RELEVANT, UNIQUE, IN-DEPTH BUSINESS, CULTURE, AND STYLE CONTENT FOR THE COMMUNITY OF CUSTOMERS AND ASSOCIATES WORLDWIDE (MONTHLY PAGEVIEWS SURPASSED 110K BY AUGUST 2012); AND IT WAS FOLDED BY SEPTEMBER 2015 AFTER THE DECEMBER 2014 RETIREMENT OF MIKE JEFFRIES AND THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF'S DISTASTE WITH THE FURTHER DEGRADATION OF THE COMPANY BY ITS NEW MANAGEMENT. WITH CONTENT BY THE PERSPECTIVE OF DEVOTED CUSTOMERS AND ASSOCIATES FROM AMERICA, EUROPE AND FAR EAST ASIA, THE SITCH ON FITCH (2010-2015) REMAINS AS A HISTORICAL, ZEITGEIST ONLINE PUBLICATION OVER THE FINAL YEARS OF THE MIKE JEFFRIES ERA. THIS SITE WILL BE REVAMPED SOON TO OFFICIATE AN INTELLIGENT ARCHIVE FOR THE USE OF ALL PARTIES INTERESTED IN THE CONTENT PUBLISHED DURING THE PUBLICATION'S ORIGINAL RUN.

Thursday, June 30, 2011

An All-American Blitzkrieg Takes Germany by Storm!

Germany, Abercrombie & Fitch has its eyes set on you! | Photography by Bruce Weber
For quite a while now, we've been well aware of the growing presence of Abercrombie & Fitch in Germany. The Company is steamrolling into the German market with all the shock and awe of a blitzkrieg! In 2009, A&F unleashed a cool wave Hollister store openings that have been awesomely huge throughout the land! SoCal wipe-out, dudes! Germany is dotted with HCo stores - six piers staffed with the hottest crew and clothes from the iconic brand. And to make things even hotter, the Company will be giving its stoked Deutsche fans an A&F flagship of their very own - A&F Dusseldorf opens in December! But this alone is just the beginning, people...

Apart from its preparations for its Dusseldorf flagship, Abercrombie & Fitch has since put into full gear its plans to open up a second location in Germany - in Hamburg! Announced in early-2011, the second Abercrombie & Fitch in Germany will be located at Poststraße 11 inside the Post Alte structure. This particular, historic building has undergone recent renovations and happens to be among the most known in the area for its cultural worth; it was first built between 1845-47 by the Alexis de Chateauneuf (renown in his day, but apparently not of note in the English world - there's no English language article of him in Wikipedia so good luck reading in German!). The location also happens to be on a corner (at the intersection of Poststraße and Große Bleichen) - A&F has a penchant for such locations. A&F Hamburg will possibly be a secondary flagship store and is slated to open doors in Spring 2012 (although this may change)...

Oh yeah, and Gilly Hicks is rumored open shop in Deutchland, too! That's right! The Company is being said to be working on expansion of the Gilly Hicks brand in Germany. However, this is merely speculation (founded on reputable sources I must add) at this point as the Company has yet to confirm this. Should this be true, a German store would make the second GH location for the European market.

Why the immense focus in Germany? The consumer base has proven particularly strong. After all, Germany is the most powerful economy on the European continent, and the four in the world....it is a wealthy nation with a strong consumer market. The Company has a FIERCE fanbase that has given it the foundations it needs to successfully growth in said German market. If you haven't noticed, store openings are focused in Western Germany - the wealthier area, densely populated, and at close distance to other densely populated western European major cities. No doubt Germany is going crazy for Abercrombie & Fitch!

It first seemed to me that it would be Japan that was to become the first country (outside the United States) to become dotted with stores from the A&F Family - its economy (third in the world) and market are huge. And indeed there are two A&F flagships in Tokyo and Fukuoka. However, Japan has been a stagnant economy for a decade; it's still an important market, but now a difficult one to operate within is all. Germany not only has numerous HCo stores already, but it will soon be home to two amazing A&F flagships by the end of 2012! And on top of that, the possibility of a Gilly Hicks, store, too!!! Verdammt, much! It seems to me that Abercrombie & Fitch has become quite a Germanophile...

Get your passports ready, my friends - we may not speak German, but we do speak Abercrombie & Fitch!