whats the story behind abercrombie and fitch? like where did it start and who founded it?

Answer 1

~According to documents in the National archives and Woodrow Wilson Library at Princeton, New Jersey, Rowland Hussey Macy and Adam Gimbel realized their constant and cutthroat price wars were costing each of them a ton of profits, especially during Department Store Holy Month, beginning the day after Thanksgiving, so they got together on a nice balmy April day in 1892 and decided to try a joint venture. They selected a small mid-western town (New Albany, Ohio) to launch the experiment and opened their first store there in August (just in time to get ready for the sacred Christmas month with the back to school sales to practice with). They couldn't let the public know that they were actually working with one another - in competition with themselves - so they decided on the name Abercrombie (Macy's wife's maiden name) and Fitch (Gimbel's mother's birth name).

The venture was so successful that they soon opened outlets in almost every city where there was already a Macy's and a Gimbel's. Then they moved the inventory that they could not sell in their namesake stores, marked the price up (sometimes sewing new labels in the clothing), touted the quality of Ambercrombie & Fitch in their advertising and not only had a new source of revenue, but actually had the means to move unsaleable product at a huge profit.

The idea germinated when Macy and Gimbel coincidentally checked into the same hotel in Nairobi, Kenya, when Macy was on his way to the Rift Valley to check on an archeological dig he was financing and Gimbel was on his way to kill lions and elephants on the Serengetti Plains. Both were wearing pith helmets and khakis when they met. To commemorate the meeting, and as an inside joke on the hoi poloi, they decided to make safari clothing a trademark item of the new store, a gimmick that yet survives.

To insure that the public would not become aware of what they were doing, they hired two out of work Broadway actors and created roles for them, "David Abercrombie" and "Ezra Fitch". The roles were intended for a limited run, and to justify the disappearance from the scene of the principals, Abercrombie and Fitch were created with such diverse and contrary personalities that a dissolution of the partnership would seem inevitable. The actors played the roles well, and the public story, as they say, is history. However, Macy and Gimbel continued to micro-manage the company from their respective lairs in Manhatten.

The balloon burst when Woodrow Wilson's trust-busters discovered the ruse in 1918. Although Gimbel's wife and Wilson's wife were second cousin's, twice removed, Wilson was forced to let the boys take action (Herbert Hoover had connections in the Treasury Department and was going to blow story wide open if Wilson didn't act) and Macy and Gimbel were required to divest themselves of all interests in the company under threat of ruinous litigation and potential treble damages and unprecedented fines under the still new Taft-Hartley Act. Macy divorced his wife, signed his shares over to her, then continued to surreptitiously see her until her death. Gimbel sold his shares to a consortium who, under the terms of the sales contract, began selling the shares back to Gimbel's illegitimate son over the succeeding 5 years. But for the Teapot Dome Scandal during the Harding administration, the whole affair would have been a bigger scandal than Watergate. The majority shareholders of Abercrombie & Fitch even today can trace their lineage back to Rowland and Adam.

Answer 2

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whats the story behind abercrombie and fitch? like where did it start and who founded it?

Answer 3

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
The partnership, however, didn't end up well. David Abercrombie was more conservative, content to continue the store as it was, selling professional gear to professional outdoorsmen. Ezra Fitch, on the other hand, was more of a visionary. He was positive that the future of the business lay in expansion, selling the outdoors and its delights to more of the general public. The two quarrelled frequently, even as the company grew increasingly successful. In 1907, Abercrombie sold his share in the company to Fitch and returned to manufacturing outdoor goods. Fitch continued the business with other partners and was, for the first time, able to direct the company in a manner to his pleasing.

Fitch determined that the store ought to have an outdoor feeling. Stock was not hidden behind glass cabinets. Instead, it was displayed as if in use. He set up a tent and equipped it as if it were out in the middle of the wilds of the Adirondacks. A campfire blazed in one corner, where an experienced guide was always in attendance, imparting valuable information to interested customers. Part of Fitch's strategy to expand the company was the creation of a mail-order catalog. In 1909, Abercrombie & Fitch mailed out over 50,000 copies of its 456 page catalog, which included outdoor clothing, camping gear, articles, and advice columns. The cost of the catalog nearly bankrupted the company, but it proved to be a profitable marketing device. By 1913, the store moved to a more fashionable and easily accessible midtown address just off Fifth Avenue, expanding its inventory to include sport clothing. A&F became the first store in New York to supply such clothing to women as well as men. In 1917, Abercrombie & Fitch Co. moved yet again to a twelve-story building on Madison Avenue. The store occupied the entire available space, making it the world's largest sporting goods store. Outside, a sign proclaimed, "Where the Blazed Trail Crosses the Boulevard."

The flagship store included many different amenities. In the basement there was a shooting range, on the mezzanine there was paraphernalia for skiing, archery, skin-diving, and lawn games. The second through the fifth floors were reserved for clothing that was suitable for any climate or terrain. On the sixth floor, there was a picture gallery and a bookstore that focused on sporting themes, a watch repair facility and a golf school, fully equipped with a resident professional. The seventh floor included a gun room, stuffed game heads, and about seven hundred shot guns and rifles. The eighth floor was dedicated solely to fishing, camping, and boating. It also included a desk that belonged to a fly- and bait-casting instructor who gave lessons at the pool, which was located on the roof. The fishing section of the store alone was stocked with over 48,000 flies and over 18,000 fishing lures. The clerks hired at Abercrombie & Fitch were not professional salesmen, but rugged outdoorsmen. Talking was their pleasure and selling was performed only at the customers' insistence.

Answer 4

go to www.abercrombie.com, click on diversity on the bottom, then click on history which will be on the left hand menu on the screen that pops up!

Answer 5

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