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, August 29, 2013

Tales of Vintage! | Abercrombie & Fitch Magazine Fall 2004: The Intro...




PRESENTER
C.E.R.

FROM
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

FEATURING
A&F MAGAZINE, FALL 2004



As a token of appreciation for having aided him with his university thesis, a kind friend of mine, studying in Budapest, presented to me as a gift a vintage, now-collectible copy of the A&F Magazine Fall 2004. Considering me, you know I was stoked. Particularly because the Fall 2004 issue, released 14 July 2004, is the premier issue of the then-new A&F Magazine which ultimately represented the start of something fresh, in attitude for Abercrombie & Fitch, after the December 2003 cancellation of the A&F Quarterly. Furthermore beautifully, the issue was the first to be used as an advertising vehicle for the Ezra Fitch higher-end clothing line which had made its debut that fashion season. To my friend, you know who you are, and I'll always cherish this for cultural and sentimental value...

I vividly remember the first time I skimmed through the pages of this A&F Magazine issue this late-May 2013 and thought to myself, "Oh, the tales this thing could tell." Really, because, as you can only imagine, this copy has had itself quite the journey since it was first purchased at whatever A&F store here in the States where it was originally on shelf. I'll forever wonder who that person is who walked out of that Abercrombie & Fitch store with it in shopping bag....because it – their copy, now being mine – has now ultimately found itself on The Sitch on Fitch. And nine years later, too. Nine being my special number.

What's furthermore incidental is that this issue came to my possession nearing nine years later as the Back-to-School (BTS) 2013 season was being finalized for imminent launch...with this BTS 2013 harkening back to the tradition of profiling young stars on the rise. The BTS 2004 campaign was themed 'A&F Rising Stars', the first of such a themed campaign, and the premier A&F Magazine profiled Michelle Trachtenberg (Ice Princess; 17 Again; Gossip Girl), Poppy Montgomery (Without a Trace), Justin Bruening (All My Children; Knight Rider; Ringer), Taylor Swift, and Olivia Wilde (The O.C.; Tron: Legacy) among many others while featuring campaign photography including actors Kellan Lutz (Twilight) and AnnaLynne McCord (90210) and high-profile model Hilary Rhoda (face of Est̩e Lauder beauty; Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issues 2009, 2010, 2011). And so coincidences of 2013 Рbelieve me, many more than just these I've noted Рsprung into realizing this progressive, yet nostalgically-juxtaposed, BTS 2013 season on THE HOTTEST BLOG of #StarsOnTheRise and A&F classics and tales of vintage.

This A&F Magazine Fall 2004 was meant for me to share with you at this point in time, and so I can only oblige with fate. There is much to share. Thus, the issue will be presented on The Sitch on Fitch in special edition installments of Tales of Vintage. While the series is originally a Thursdays-weekly affair, we will be making an exception. Today, we start with The Intro...












Top: The cover featuring Kellan Lutz.
Center: Introductory 'Editor's Letter' by a supposed grandchild of Ezra Fitch.
Bottom: Clockwise, Hilary Rhoda w/"Sky", and "Nature" and "Grass".

While the Back-to-School 2004 campaign was labeled 'A&F Rising Stars', the premier A&F Magazine was subtitled "Sky. Nature. Grass."

"With the help of some frogs, owls, deer and, yes, even bears, we photographed A&F's fall line of clothing at the expansive farmlands of Hidden Valley in California. These grounds have served as the backdrop for many movies, making them an ideal place to showcase [...] the rising stars of tomorrow." – Excerpt from 'Editor's Letter' mock-signed by the supposed grandchild, Ezra Fitch

Considering that Abercrombie & Fitch Co. is steeped in romanticism and fantasy in juxtaposition of its authentic spirit, the mock-signature may well be just that...fantasy.


The Tales of Vintage special edition posts for A&F Magazine Fall 2004 will be broken down into three parts: The Intro (August 29), The Interludes (September 5-7; Parts I, II, and III), and The Profiles (September 12). I sincerely hope you enjoy this exceptional exploration of another classic Abercrombie & Fitch gem...

Stay FIERCE!




_____________________


THIS IS HAS BEEN THE THIRD IN TALES OF VINTAGE!,
A SERIES OF POSTS HIGHLIGHTING EXCEPTIONAL ABERCROMBIE & FITCH CO.
PIECES WITH PERSONAL STORIES FROM FANS ACROSS THE PLANET.

_____________________


Images and written content © C.E.R., The Sitch on Fitch. Original photography in A&F Magazine Fall 2004 by Bruce Weber for Abercrombie & Fitch.

Tuesday, August 27, 2013

Featured Goods of the Week! | August 27 through September 2...


You in those jeans, make it the style performance of the season! We love how they look & #WECANTSTOP! ...Check out this week's featured goods!







ABERCROMBIE
& FITCH
M  E  N

A&F SLIM STRAIGHT JEANS
DESTROYED MEDIUM WASH
US$88

(MORE)






ABERCROMBIE
& FITCH
W  O  M  E  N

A&F SUPER SKINNY JEANS
SHINE PRINT WASH
US$98

(MORE)






abercrombie
g  u  y  s

a&f skinny jeans
destroyed light wash
US$69.50

(more)






abercrombie
g  i  r  l  s

a&f boot jeans
rinse
US$39.50

(more)






HOLLISTER Co.
D  U  D  E  S

HOLLISTER CLASSIC TAPER JEANS
MEDIUM WASH
US$59.95

(MORE)






HOLLISTER Co.
B  E  T  T  Y  S

HOLLISTER SKINNY ANKLE JEANS
 DESTROYED LIGHT STRIPE
US$59.50

(MORE)






GILLY HICKS
G  I  R  L  S

GH HIGH-RISE SHORT-SHORT
 WHITE W/COCHET
US$44.50

(MORE)


Monday, August 26, 2013

Marcus in America! | #ABERCROMBIEHOT cologne!

Howdy everybody! Hopefully you've all had a decent Monday!

Abercrombie & Fitch has launched a new men's cologne: #ABERCROMBIEHOT!


The description of the scent reads:
The light scent of fresh cucumber and coconut water is cool and invigorating. Subtle notes of amber and musk round it out with a masculine finish.

As you can see, the cologne bottle has no male torso on it for once. The cologne name itself, #AbercrombieHot, is named after the hashtag that A&F has been attempting to get trending on social networking sites like Twitter and Instagram since the onset of Spring-Summer 2013. #AbercrombieHot was, of course, released after the abercrombie kids cologne: AbercrombieCool (no hashtag). That cologne's name has a similar origin.  

At the moment, #AbercrombieHot comes in one size: 1.7 fluid ounces. Its price points match FIERCE's at $54.

Abercrombie & Fitch has been known to release many scents for men and women across its brands. It wasn't long ago that A&F released the 1892 collection for men, which consisted of four distinct scents. A review of all the scents from that line can be found (here). The Company's innovative scents have generally always been either hit or miss. FIERCE by A&F and SoCal by Hollister are my favorite cologne scents!

Have you have sampled #AbercrombieHot or just want to tell me what your favorite scent by the Company is? Feel free to leave a comment!

Til next time,
Marcus


Sunday, August 25, 2013

Cameron in Scotland! | FIERCE Home Office Videos!

Hey Dudes & Bettys!

How are y'all? I've got some pretty awesome Home Office videos to share with you. Now, if you haven't seen the A&F Campus before, prepare to be amazed! It honestly looks like the best place to work... I've included a few videos below, that you should definitely check out! The first video I have included is all about the different opportunities at the campus. The second being all about the Leadership Development Program and the third being about the IT Leadership Development Program.





 I've also decided to add in the below video about the Manager in Training Program, which is an in-store opportunity. I believe that this is a fantastic program in which I personally want to be involved at some point soon in my life...



Are you a MIT? Do you work at Home Office? Let me know all about it in the comments below, and I'll be sure to reply!

Stay FIERCE
~Cameron

Friday, August 23, 2013

Abercrombie & Fitch Fiscal 2013, Quarter 2 Results...

Hello TSOF fans! Are you getting excited for Labor Day? I know I am: I have a five-day weekend.

Well, A&F has released Fiscal Year (FY)2013's Quarter (Q)2 sales information online. You can find it on the Company's investors website (here). However, as I know not everybody has time to peruse investors presentations and such, so I'm going to summarize the quarter...



Glance at A&F stock as of today. (CNNMoney / NYSE)


Net sales for the Company for Q2 FY2013 were $945, 698. Net sales for the Company last year Q2 were $951,407. As you can see, there's a considerable negative difference. What does this mean? Allow me to break it down:

U.S. stores sales this year have dropped from $562,105 (2012) to $504,674. That a considerable reason why the Q2 FY2013 total is so low. International stores and direct to consumer sales have increased since 2012. This is noticeably good at a glance, but let's go further.

A&F also reported that by brand, including direct to consumer: sales have gone down 6% at Abercrombie & Fitch;  3% at abercrombie; and a whopping 13% for Hollister. I don't see where or if they've reported on Gilly Hicks, but as you can see, this is bad.

The Company has tried to rectify their bad sales by repurchasing stock, a well-known tactic in the market. In Q2 FY2013 alone, they repurchased 2,033 shares!

Also worth mentioning: the store count. At the end of Q2, eight stores have been opened and four stores have been closed. Four stores being closed in the middle of the year is slightly alarming, as most Companies close stores at the end of Quarter 4.

The Company expects comparable sales in Q3 down slightly more than Q2.

Conclusions: this year has proven to be a rough one for Abercrombie & Fitch. If I were a tad cynical, I would say that the Company dug its own grave after CEO Mike Jeffries' rather bold remarks in his past interview. However, we probably all know that the world of fashion is fickle. A&F just has to do its best to stay competitive and relevant.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the read. If all this isn't your thing, you can expect fall outfits from me sometime after Labor Day.

Later!
Marcus

Coming Soon: The Trubble Village Bar...







OPENING
SEPTEMBER 23





For RUEHL fans, finally a place of their own. Culture, cool, and all that Village jazz...

Stay FIERCE!

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Jennifer Lawrence Vogue September 2013...

She once posed in front of the lens of Bruce Weber for Abercrombie & Fitch. Now, Oscar winning actor Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games; Silver Linnings Playbook) graces the cover of American Vogue September 2013! It's currently the HOTTEST issue in the publishing world, and it is surely to be the bestselling of the year!






Discover more content on The Sitch on Fitch on Tumblr (here).

Exclusive photography of the issue coming this weekend on THE HOTTEST BLOG...



WE LOVE JENNIFER!



Stay FIERCE!

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Featured Goods of the Week! | August 20 through August 26...


Put your hands up! Make 'em touch! We all live for the #APPLAUSE... Check out this week's featured goods!







ABERCROMBIE
& FITCH
M  E  N

VINTAGE WOVEN BRACELET
NAVY
US$8

(MORE)






ABERCROMBIE
& FITCH
W  O  M  E  N

METALLIC SHINE BRACELET
EMBELLISHED SILVER
US$22

(MORE)






abercrombie
g  u  y  s

classic friendship bracelet
white
US$5

(more)






abercrombie
g  i  r  l  s

shine bracelet
pink
US$12.50

(more)






HOLLISTER Co.
D  U  D  E  S

VINTAGE STRIPED BRACELET
TURQUOISE AND GREEN
US$9.50

(MORE)






HOLLISTER Co.
B  E  T  T  Y  S

PRETTY SHINE BRACELET
 SILVER
US$14.50

(MORE)






GILLY HICKS
G  I  R  L  S

GILLY HICKS PHONE CASE
 PINK / HUMOR
US$19.95

(MORE)