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Shocking Move of the Day: Abercrombie Will Now Sell Plus-Sized Clothing

In a bold about-face, the once popular retailer is going after the customers it's long shunned
Yes, but will they start featuring heavier models, too?
Yes, but will they start featuring heavier models, too?
Remember when Abercrombie & Fitch sat atop the roost of the all the cool kid clothiers? When wearing an A&F sweatshirt signified that you'd "arrived" and every tween and teen across the nation clamored for any and everything with that ubiquitous logo on it?


Then, CEO Mike Jeffries let a little too much slip during an interview seven years ago and set a big change in motion. Turns out that letting the world know that you're catering to a specific kind of customer isn't necessarily the best business move.

Jefferies, who famously admitted that Abercrombie "doesn't want larger people shopping in his store, he wants thin and beautiful people," is today eating what amounts to a big pile of crow. For the first time in its 123-year history, Abercrombie will stock sizes that exceed "Large" -- something they said they'd never do.

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Why? Because this is a last ditch effort to reclaim their Prom King/Queen crown. Over the last year, shares in the company have lost roughly 30 percent of their value because all of a sudden, fickle/mercurial kids have stopped beating a path to the naked boy-covered doors -- opting instead to shop at stores like Forever21 and H&M which, in addition to offering lower price points, have a wide array of fashions from which kids can cull their own, individual looks.

Including larger sizes isn't the only Hail Mary pass Abercrombie's throwing out there. According to Reuters, the retailer will also, "expand its women's tops collection, offer more colors, and start selling shoes."

Think it's too late for Abercrombie to become the cool kid on the retail block again or is fashion so cyclical that anything's possible?

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BY AUDREY FINE | NOV 8, 2013 | SHARES
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