No offense, but I couldn't help but laughing when I passed the Abercrombie & Fitch-store in Brussels yesterday. This picture was taken around noon. At 10 AM, when I arrived at Chaussee de Waterloo*, the line was twice as long, running all in front of the BMW-garage.
Okay, I must admit, the brand has a very clever marketing strategy, especially if you can make people (read: 14-year olds with their mums) wait in line for an hour just to get some simple, everyday non-limited edition-H&M-meets-designer-brand style of clothes. But I think the clothes look terrible (aside from the fact that A&F is being printed on every single item) and are very, very, yes, very over-priced.
A friend of mine told me a few years ago that if I ever got the chance I should go check out the A&F-concept at he thought it was ridiculous. And so, one early morning**, when I was near their Fifth Ave.-store, I noticed that for once there wasn't a single soul waiting in line. I went inside, and I literally immediately walk out again. We were inside 3 min. tops! Most of the clothes (not my style) are inside the glass counters, the store was extremely dark and the music was so damn loud that I couldn't even stand the idea that I would actually take a walk around the store and even give this brand a fair chance. So, let it be said: A&F, thumbs up for your marketing team, but you'll never get me to enter your store again***! But don't let me stop you ...
NB: Why A&F doesn't work in Japan. #funny
*There goes the neighborhood
**NYC equals jetlags equals getting up way too early to go shopping
***Online shopping isn't an option either
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ReplyDeleteI think the clothes are beautiful. It depends on the taste of the person. In my case it's totally my style. Yes the waiting line is ridiculous, but the concept of the store is brilliant and unique. The clothes are made in excellent quality, unlike brands like H&M. Yes it is a little expensive, but the quality is amazing and all their clothes are super soft. Forever 21 now that is a cheap store, where the clothes rip after a month. A&F clothes you can wear for years, because the style is very classic and won't go out of style for years.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, when I visited that store there was a queue though and I couldn't believe why there was one when the store was already open for a week or so :/ Indeed,the clothes aren't that special and the prices are insane yes, LOL :') My parent also thought that the store was way too dark (so did I) and that the clothes weren't really that special either ... We just visited it for fun and walked out of the store with nothing, LOL :') The model in the entrance was nice though, haha ;-)
ReplyDeleteGood article, good to see that someone else has the same opinion ;)
i feel you girl, exactly what i think about abercrombie and filth.
ReplyDeleteHey Tiffany. Ik was toevallig ook op de Waterloolaan gisteren omstreeks 10u. Idd belachelijk die rij :). Spijtig dat ik je niet tegen het lijf ben gelopen. Alles goed met je voor de rest? Ik zie trouwens dat je een geweldige armband gekocht hebt. Prachtig!!!
ReplyDeleteGroetjes
Ik heb al altijd een dubbelgevoel bij A&F ... Je kan er wel een toffe bloes of cardigan scoren, MAAR inderdaad totally overpriced!! Was ook eerder deze maand in Brussel en wist niet goed wat ik zag... Die rij ... dear lord! Was content dat ik de shop in Londen al eens gezien had. Toch, blijf ik het ook een vreemd concept vinden, met die halfnaakte mannen voor de deur, waar je dan nog eens mee op de foto moet. 'T blijft allemaal toch een beetje te geforceerd voor mij.
ReplyDeletehaha i took the same picture! het is zo raar om mensen zien aan te schuiven op de boulevard!!!! tenzij tijdens de solden bij Gucci! ik denk dat we compleet hetzelfde idee hebben over A&F, fantastische marketing maar ik begrijp de inrichting van de winkels echt niet! ik loop meestal huilend en full of stress naar buiten. mijn schoonzus wou ook een A&F vanuit NYC! ik zei oke, mr ik schuif geen minuut aan! aan the hollister store in soho moest je niet aanschuiven, de meest hatelijke winkel ooit! druk, luid, lawaai, donker en je hebt absoluut geen overzicht! misschien is het 'je moet erin verdwalen' principe hun strategie, ik haat het!
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