apparel and retail

With Sales A-Blazing, Abercrombie & Fitch Flexes Deeper Into NFL

  



Abercrombie & Fitch keeps proving that it’s got game, beating the pants off competitors in the apparel space: It just reported a 21% jump in quarterly revenue. It’s further expanding the field of play, extending its partnership with the National Football League. In the coming season, the retailer says it will sell licensed graphic apparel,  and feature content and social media collaborations with NFL players.

The new deal includes TJ Watt, who plays for the Pittsburgh Steelers; Fred Warner of the San Francisco 49ers; Rome Odunze of the Chicago Bears; and Nick Chubb of the Cleveland Browns.

The New Albany, Ohio-based company describes the partnership as “an organic evolution to the popular relationship between the two brands over the past two years.” It involves NFL-branded apparel for men, women and kids.

The company unveiled the collection just after reporting second-quarter results, with blistering sales gains showing just how thoroughly the brand is scoring with target audiences. At a moment when many apparel brands are reporting sales declines, A&F revenues rocketed 21% to $1.1 billion. (And that’s lapping a quarter that had risen 18%.)

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The gains include the Abercrombie banner, which is up 26%, and Hollister, its more teen-focused division, where sales gained 17%.

Net income climbed 12% to $135.4 million.

And even as competitors reduce forecasts for the months ahead, A&F is bullish.

“Although we continue to operate in an increasingly uncertain environment, we remain steadfast in executing our global playbook,” says Fran Horowitz, chief executive officer, in the company’s earnings report. “We are on track and confident in our goal to deliver sustainable, profitable growth this year while making strategic long-term investments across marketing, digital and technology and stores to enable future growth.”

In an interview discussing the results with Bloomberg, Horowitz cited the NFL partnership as an example of that strategic thinking. She said the effort began three years ago, starting small, carefully piloting efforts to test relevance for consumers. By last year, focused primarily on fleece and T-shirts. “It’s now expanded to all 32 teams and multiple categories, including outerwear and hats.”

Observers are impressed. “This is nothing short of a gold medal performance in retail,” writes Neil Saunders, managing director of GlobalData, “especially as it has been delivered at a time when the going is a little tougher than normal.”

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