• by Sarah Mahoney  @mahoney_sarah, March 2, 2017

Add Abercrombie & Fitch to the latest retailer struggling to sell clothes to ecommerce-loving Americans.

The company, in the midst of a massive repositioning and marketing effort, says its fourth-quarter sales fell 7% to $1.04 billion, with comparable-store results slipping 5%, marking the fourth consecutive quarter of declines. Same-store sales at its Abercrombie & Fitch stores plunged 13% in the quarter, and 11% for the year.

Like many of its competitors, the New Albany, Ohio-based retailer chalks up the disappointment partly to a fiercely promotional environment as mall-based stores fight for their lives. Describing the A&F brand renewal as “a work in progress,” CEO Fran Horowitz says bright spots include positive results at its Hollister brand, and strength in its direct-to-consumer business.

“While overall results did not meet expectations, 2016 was a year of significant progress on each of our strategic priorities,” she says. “We stayed close to our customers to understand what inspires them, which helped inform our planning and execution. We began to communicate evolved identities for each of our brands, and made improvements to the customer experience through the rollout of store remodels, and ongoing investments in direct-to-consumer and omnichannel capabilities across both brands.”

She says she expects sales to remain challenging for the first half of this year. Others say the brand still has a long way to go. Abercrombie’s latest marketing campaign, themed “People have a lot to say about us, they think they’ve got us figured out,” exemplifies its problems, writes Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData Retail, in his reaction to the latest numbers. “Not only is the message confusing and opaque, but the promise of change that it suggests is not entirely delivered on by stores, which look and feel the same as they have always done.”

In January, the company announced that it had hired Will A. Smith as its new CMO, overseeing brand, creative and digital marketing. (Previously, Smith had worked in various marketing roles at Caleres, formerly known as Brown Shoe Co.)

Abercrombie is hardly alone in reporting downbeat news. L Brands just announced that February sales for its Victoria Secret fell 13%, partially due to its decision to leave swimsuits and apparel and focus on lingerie. Earlier this week, both Target and Best Buy reported lackluster numbers, along with plans to address what they see as ongoing problems by shifting to smaller, more urban formats.

S&P says the entire retailing category is in trouble, with trends likely moving from bad to worse in the year ahead. “The peril of online competition and secular shifts in consumer tastes have accelerated the pressures facing U.S. retailers this year,” it says in its new report. It says so far this year, its analysts have made 20 negative ratings, including downgrades of such brands as Macy's and Neiman Marcus.

"We expect pressure on many U.S. retail companies to increase this year, leading to at least as many defaults as in 2016," writes credit analyst Robert Schulz. "The same pressures we noted in 2016 and earlier are now accelerating at a quicker pace, and a good swath — but not all — of the rated U.S. retail sector is running out of room to maneuver."