Chapter 2: Strategic Planning for Competitive Advantage

Over the years Abercrombie & Fitch has managed to reach the same target market, though each group has evolved much from the last. they've been able to do that by making sure they stay in tune with whats in trend and what people actually want to buy, while still making sure that they are staying true to the Abercrombie brand and providing their target market with what they know and love from the company. Abercrombie and Fitch started by creating a strategic business unit (SBU) by forming the brands, Hollister, Abercrombie Kids, Gilly Hicks and Ruehl all under the umbrella of the Abercrombie and Fitch organization. each reaching out to a different target market, but not all being so successful. Ruehl was forced to close all its stores by January 2010 due to low sales leaving the company to focus on their more flourishing brands, with emphasis on their main brand, Abercrombie & Fitch. Recently Abercrombie & Fitch began a product development strategy by releasing what they called "Redesigned 2012 Jeans".x Jeans that are designed to fit much better than the original while providing more stretch and better quality. A change as major as that to an Abercrombie staple like their jeans is sure to make all of their present consumers happy as well as bring in more consumers. Along with their new and improved jeans some of them are debuting on Abercrombie's website already on sale which i'm sure speaks loudly to many consumers, including myself.