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Abercrombie & Fitch

Abercrombie & Fitch, known for their retail of casual clothing and accessories for men and women target the collegiate and high school world population. The company operates over 200 stores including 14 "Abercrombie" shops for children and teenagers and also publishes a quarterly combination of magazine/catalog.

In 1892 Abercrombie & Fitch began under the name of David T. Abercrombie Co., a small waterfront shop and factory in downtown New York City, which was owned by David Abercrombie.

The company was first established in 1892 and became known initially as a supplier of rugged, outdoor fashion. It was acquired by The Limited Inc. in 1988 and in 1992 Abercrombie & Fitch was repositioned as a more fashion-oriented casual apparel business. An initial public offering was held in 1996, where The Limited Company retained 84 percent of the company. It became independent in June 1998, when the remainder of the company was spun off to a Limited amount of shareholders.

David Abercrombie was born and raised in Baltimore, Maryland. He was a former trapper, prospector, topographer and railroad surveyor. He was also known as an inventor, an ingenious designer of tents, rucksacks and other camping equipment. It was his love of the great outdoors that inspired him to begin with Abercrombie & Co., a shop dedicated to selling only the highest-quality camping, fishing and hunting gear. His clientele consisted mostly of some professional hunters, explorers and trappers. And also a man named Ezra Fitch.

Ezra Fitch was a successful lawyer in the district of Kingston, New York. Restless with his life of law, Fitch spent all of his free time trekking the slopes of the Adirondacks and casting flies into the streams of the Catskill. In his search for exceptional outdoor gear, he had come to rely upon David Abercrombie's shop, becoming one of its most devoted and well-loved customers.

So devoted, in fact, that in 1900 he had convinced David Abercrombie to let him buy into the business and become a good partner. By 1904, the shop (which by now had moved to 314 Broadway) was incorporated and the name was officially changed to Abercrombie & Fitch.

Both David Abercrombie and Ezra Fitch were stubborn, hot-tempered men, and they had some very different views about their business' future. Abercrombie was more conservative, content to continue the store as it was, selling professional gear to professional outdoorsmen. Fitch, however, was more of a visionary. He was positive that the future of the business lay in expansion, selling the outdoors and its delights to more of the general public. Long arguments between the two men followed.

Inevitably, the partnership came to a close, and David Abercrombie resigned in 1907.

In the meantime, the shop continued to expand. Ezra Fitch was a determined innovator. As a result of his great imagination, hard work and sheer force of will, what he created was no ordinary sporting goods shop. Fitch was rather determined that the store would have an outdoor feeling. Stock was not hidden behind glass cabinets. Instead, it was displayed as if it was in use. He set up a tent and equipped it as if it were out in the middle of the wilds of the Adirondacks. A campfire blazed in one corner, where an experienced guide was always in attendance, imparting valuable information to all the interested customers.

The clerks hired at A&F weren't professional salesmen, but real rugged outdoorsmen. Talking was their pleasure and selling was only carried out by popular demand. By 1913, the store moved to a more fashionable and easily accessible midtown address just off Fifth Avenue, thus expanding its inventory to include sports clothing. A&F then became the first shop in New York to supply such clothing to women as well as men.

Shortly after Abercrombie's resignation from the company, A&F began publishing a catalog. This impressive book featured 456 pages of outdoor gear and clothing as well as sage camping, hunting and fishing advice to 50,000 of the prospective customers around the world. Orders soon began to flood in from around the globe, bringing international status to the ever-expanding shop.

By 1928, Ezra Fitch retired from the business in order to enjoy his remaining few years in the great outdoors that he cherished so much. Abercrombie & Fitch continued to proliferate, with stores opening up in Chicago and San Francisco. But by the late '60s the store hit upon hard times and went bankrupt in 1977. Oshman's Sporting Goods, based in Houston, Texas, then bought the company. Business wasn't good. The Limited Inc. bought Abercrombie & Fitch in 1988.

And today, Abercrombie & Fitch thrives as a publicly and popular owned held company. With such a powerful lifestyle brand, business is always thriving at Abercrombie & Fitch with hundreds of stores.

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