Marketing Thoughts on the Frenzy of the Abercrombie & Fitch CEO's Comments

I have two thoughts on the frenzy over Abercrombie and Fitch’s CEOs comments… Both as a marketer, not as a parent or a psychologist.
1) Having a very clear picture of who your target market is for a company or a product is critical to success. As a business, trying to be everything to everyone is a recipe for failure. I admire that this dude is crystal clear on who they are selling to and why.
2) The public outcry is the exact reason that positioning documents are for internal use only. Targeting should be done through product design, media buys, and imagery/messaging… all of which is designed to influence the people you want to attract. Making a public declaration of those things leads to hurt feelings and being judged for your target market choices.
3) Bonus thought: I used to love the giant flannel shirts (I think they were called the big shirt) at A&F but by changing their designs, my own aging, and their ads it became very clear that this was not the store for me. And that’s okay in my opinion.

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