Abercrombie & Fitch

It’s a rough time for many teen apparel retailers and the holiday season may not bring much relief.   American Eagle Outfitters Inc. on Wednesday issued a weaker than expected forecast for the fourth quarter as its CEO cited a “tough” retail environment. Its warnings issues similar statements from the likes of Abercrombie & Fitch and Gap.    

Abercrombie & Fitch’s efforts to turnaround its struggling namesake brand aren’t finding much traction with shoppers.   The teen apparel brand on Friday said that its profit declined 81% in the third quarter and warned that it expects a challenging holiday season for its namesake banner.     Abercrombie posted net income of $7.88 million, or 12 cents per share, for the quarter ended Oct. 29, down from $41.9 million, or 60 cents per share, in the year-ago period.  

Street closings and protests related to the election of Donald Trump are severely impacting retail traffic on the priciest retail corridor in the world.   Tiffany & Co., Abercrombie & Fitch, Henri Bendel, Polo Ralph Lauren and other retailers on Fifth Avenue are all being affected, according to the Associated Press.  

TRENDING STORES: PetSmart debuted a new store concept that puts a big emphasis on pet services. The 7,400-sq.-ft. PetSmart Pet Spa, in Oceanside, N.Y., is decidedly smaller than PetSmart’s typical footprint and features a self-service dog wash, a grooming salon and a coffee bar-lounge area. The overall modern design includes a circular “concierge” desk with a bakery full of dog treats.…Amazon Books plans to open its fourth location, a 7,200-sq.-ft. store in Chicago’s Lakeview neighborhood.

From new store prototypes to merchandise changes, Abercrombie & Fitch has been investing in efforts to transform and update its namesake and Hollister brands.     Unfortunately, getting consumers to change their ideas regarding the brands is not proving all that easy, according to Columbus Business First.     

Abercrombie & Fitch Co.’s turnaround was called in to question on Tuesday as the chain posted a wider loss in its second quarter, hurt by a decline in tourist traffic at its flagship locations.     The teen apparel retailer also revealed that it expects to close up to 60 U.S. stores as their leases expire this fiscal year. On its quarterly conference call, company executives said the chain has flexibility to close even more stores, with about half of its U.S. leases expiring by the end of 2017, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Shoppers in select foreign markets have a new way to purchase goods from Abercrombie & Fitch.   The retailer on Wednesday announced a wholesale agreement with Zalando SE, a Germany-based online retailer that carries more than 150,000 styles from some 1,500 brands for women, men and kids and counts more than 18 million active customers. Beginning this week, Zalando will start selling Abercrombie & Fitch, Hollister and abercrombie kids products through its online stores in the 15 European markets it serves.