See, Navarra used to spend upwards of $1,000 a year at her local San Francisco A&F store, buying everything they had, and everything she wanted. But this summer she tried to order a $200 A&F gift-card online and was unceremoniously rejected.
Abercrombie & Fitch sent her a letter saying: "This order was cancelled and we will not accept future orders from you. Abercrombie & Fitch is a private label brand. To protect its intellectual property rights, suspected resale of our merchandise for personal or business profit is strictly prohibited."
Except for that first sentence, the entire letter was a cut-and-paste from the store's website.
So, they thought Kim Navarra was buying A&F merchandise and reselling it? Seriously? She was spending a lot of money, I guess, but it wasn't an exorbitant whoop whoop whoop sound the alarms and send out the dogs red alert amount of spending, was it?
Kim Navarra took her story to her local San Francisco news station ABC7, saying that she is just a loyal customer who likes the brand. "All their clothes seem to fit and last over the years. I'm not reselling them. As you can see, I have the clothes on, I wear them to work, I've worn every single pair of jeans."
Well, since the story broke on the news, and bad publicity really is just that, Abercrombie finally relented and let Navarra shop again. Perhaps they came to the realization that banning a loyal customer isn't good for business.
Then again, it isn't the first time A&F shows some hint of bad judgement. The company once fired a male model for eating a croissant at the wrong time, and then the company landed in some serious legal hot water for allegedly firing a Muslim female employee for wearing her religious headscarf.
I hope their team of lawyers and their PR firm is paid handsomely, because they must be working overtime.
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What's with the 'exclusivity of the brand' BS? They are in SHOPPING MALLS, for God's sake! Who do they think they're kidding?
ReplyDeleteAnd the stores give me sneezing fits and migraines from their stinky cologne. The place must put it in the air ducts. Putrid.
$1000 per year is nothing. Did you mean to write $1000 per month? Or per day?
ReplyDeleteThey were justified in terminating the Muslim employee. She wouldn't conform to policy. If I was told that we had to start wearing ties at work I would do so.
ReplyDeleteIt's the same thing. She was just using religous tolerance blah blah as an excuse.
She should most certainly take her business elsewhere! Perhaps she has more money than sense!
ReplyDeletehttp://diatribesandovations.com/2011/08/23/diatribe-if-you-dont-want-photos-of-your-underage-daughter-shared-with-the-public-then-dont-accept-cash-from-photographers-it-might-make-you-look-like-a-pimp/
this is crazy. A&F certainly knows how to get into the papers, maybe some twisted genius PR move, the naked buff boys on shopping bags was enough for me.
ReplyDeleteA&F must have the stupidest marketers working for them. If they're so worried about people buying hundreds of items and reselling them for profit, then why don't they get in on the action and raise their prices?
ReplyDeleteI heard that A&F paid "The Situation" an exorbitant amount of money NOT to wear their clothes in public! It seems that they saw the way his constant appearances in "Affliction" t-shirts deemed that brand "total douchewear" and didn't want the same image for their brand! Marketing money well spent, IMFO (In My FABULOUS Opinion!)
ReplyDeleteCue Romy and Michelle line, "Why won't they let her SHOP?"
ReplyDeleteKeep in mind it's A&F. These are the same people who started out selling $1500 hunting rifles. They don't seem to realize that they are on the same level as American Eagle.
ReplyDeleteYou're a business and you want to make money. Whether or not she resells the item after, she still had to buy the original item at full price.
This is completely weird. Who do they think they are anyway? Good grief.
ReplyDeleteI don't like Abercrombie ads though I love the clothes.
ReplyDelete