Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) has announced that it is working with IBM software to help the company transform its online business to achieve the speed, efficiency and adaptability of Smarter Commerce. The initiative comes as a part of Abercrombie’s goal of becoming $1 billion e-commerce brand, and reflects the growing importance of direct business in the current apparel industry. Abercrombie & Fitch competes with other specialty retailers such as Aeropostale (NYSE: ARO), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE: AEO) and Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) in teen apparel space.
Articles for Abercrombie & Fitch Co.
Abercrombie Brings in Big Blue to Crank Up Web Sales
Graph ItNEW!Friday, January 20th, 2012 by Trefis Team
Teen Apparel Retailers in 2011: Assessing the Threats & Opportunities Ahead
Graph ItNEW!Friday, January 6th, 2012 by Trefis Team
For teen apparel retailers, 2011 proved out to be a year full of nightmares. Starting with the jump in cotton prices to the economic slowdown in U.S. and Europe, different combinations of negative factors ensured that investors remain bearish on the teen apparel stocks throughout the year. Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) was the biggest loser among these companies, losing nearly 40% of its stock value since January 2011 and was followed by Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) and Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS). Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) stood strong until November, when it got smacked after its European growth began showing signs of tapering, and finally ended the year 15% below its value in January 2011. American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) was the only gainer among teen retailers in 2011, ending the year with a meager increase of 7%, thanks to a late surge after promising Q3 and holiday sales results.
Below we look at the major hurdles and silver lining for teen apparel retailers in 2011, and how prominently we expect each of these factors to impact teen retailers going ahead in 2012.
Abercrombie Holding Gains This Week, $64 Fair Value
Graph ItNEW!Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 by Trefis Team
Abercrombie & Fitch’s (NYSE:ANF) stock gained earlier this week after a report by Barclays that puts it as one of its top seven retail sector picks. While the report suggested that the business should benefit from closing of unprofitable stores, expense leveraging and annualization of new stores opened in 2011 and margin recovery from lower costs, we believe that slow and steady improvement in European economy should also benefit the company going ahead. Abercrombie & Fitch competes with other specialty retailers such as Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:ANF) and Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) in teen apparel space.
The Holiday Spirit Travels Online For Teen Apparel Retailers
Graph ItNEW!Thursday, December 22nd, 2011 by Trefis Team
Online shoppers are bringing cheer to teen apparel stocks this holiday season. According to a recent report from comScore, holiday online shopping has increased by 15% this year vs. 2010. Apparel & accessories remains a high growth category in online shopping for the holidays, and we expect retailers such as Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) and others to benefit from the increase in Internet sales.
Abercrombie, Gap Have the Lead on Facebook Engagement Among Teen Apparel Companies
Graph ItNEW!Wednesday, December 21st, 2011 by Trefis Team
If 2011 was all about the emergence of e-commerce and m-commerce (m for mobile) in the apparel industry, we could call 2012 the year of f-commerce for Facebook. Teen apparel companies like Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:ARO), Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) and Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) are actively trying to engage and build brand loyalty with their target market on the site. As a proxy for these retailers online reach to customers, we take a look at some of the popular metrics below that Facebook provides such as total number of Likes and followers talking about the brand. On these metrics it looks like Abecrombie and Gap have the edge in online engagement via Facebook.
Teen Retailers: Holiday Season Ain’t Over Yet, Survey Says Only Half Done
Graph ItNEW!Friday, December 16th, 2011 by Trefis Team
While it may have been more than a month into the holidays, the most important season for apparel retailers is still not over. According to National Retail Federation’s (NRF) survey, most consumers have more than half of their shopping to complete. The positive outlook has also resulted in NRF increasing its holidays sales forecast to rise by 3.8% compared to its earlier forecast of 2.8% in October. Extrapolating the results to our apparel coverage universe, we believe the increase in holiday shopping near Christmas to benefit retailers such as Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS), Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO), Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), Urban Outfitters (NASDAQ:URBN) and others.
Abercrombie Slump Exacerbated by Out of Touch Targeting?
Graph ItNEW!Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011 by Trefis Team
Last week, Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE: ANF) posted a disappointing third-quarter earnings report, earning $0.57 per share as opposed to the expected $0.71, which caused a sharp decline in their share price. Though sales increased overall in both the flagship and the secondary brand stores, a spike in cotton prices over the summer caused major costing issues for Abercrombie and it’s competitors such as Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO), American Eagle (NYSE:AEO) and Gap (NYSE:GPS).
Abercrombie on Course to Become a $1 Billion E-Commerce Brand
Graph ItNEW!Monday, November 21st, 2011 by Trefis Team
Even though a disappointing international business climate eclipsed the positive Q3 sales update on November 3rd for Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF), a solid growth of 41% in its direct-to-consumer business will help lead the teen apparel retailer achieve its goal of $1 billion in internet sales. E-commerce sales have become a major focus area for teen apparel retailers such as American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO), Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO) and Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS).
We currently have a price estimate of just about $64 for Abercrombie’s stock, which is about 15% ahead of the market price
Abercrombie Slump Overdone, Despite Margin Concerns
Graph ItNEW!Thursday, November 17th, 2011 by Trefis Team
November is turning out to be a rough month for Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) and its investors. The teen apparel retailer’s stock was thumped by over 15% Wednesday after its disappointing Q3 earnings report. While a decline in gross margins by 3.6% was primarily responsible for the slump, concerns over Abercrombie’s slowing international business also contributed to the fall. Despite this, the company’s management confidently dismissed the concerns on its slowing international business as hype. Though we believe the decline in gross margins is a source of concern, the crash in ANF’s stock was a bit overdone in our view. Abercrombie & Fitch competes with other specialty retailers such as Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:AEO) and Gap Inc. (NYSE:GPS) in the teen apparel space.
Abercrombie & Fitch Preview: International Strategy in Focus
Graph ItNEW!Monday, November 14th, 2011 by Trefis Team
As Abercrombie & Fitch (NYSE:ANF) is scheduled to announce its third quarter earnings results on Wednesday, investors and analysts will be keenly watching for teen apparel retailer’s international strategy going forward. Abercrombie’s stock had crashed by over 20% on November 3rd on account of disappointing overseas sales that showed a slowing trend in Europe that included negative comps for flagship stores. Though we believe the decline was a bit overdone and overshadowed various positives of sales update such as Abercrombie’s net sales rising by 21% and direct-to-consumer sales growing by over 40%. Abercrombie & Fitch competes with other specialty retailers such as Aeropostale (NYSE:ARO), American Eagle Outfitters (NYSE:ANF) and Gap Inc. (NYSE: GPS) in teen apparel space.
See our article: Abercrombie’s Disappointing Int’l Sales Send Shares Crashing, Stock Worth $64
Our price estimate for Abercrombie & Fitch stands at $64, which is nearly 13% above the current market price.
Abercrombie & Fitch Co. : All Articles
- Week of 2012-01-15
- Week of 2012-01-01
- Week of 2011-12-18
- 12/22/11 Abercrombie Holding Gains This Week, $64 Fair Value
- 12/22/11 The Holiday Spirit Travels Online For Teen Apparel Retailers
- 12/21/11 Abercrombie, Gap Have the Lead on Facebook Engagement Among Teen Apparel Companies
- Week of 2011-12-11
- Week of 2011-11-20
- 11/23/11 Abercrombie Slump Exacerbated by Out of Touch Targeting?
- 11/21/11 Abercrombie on Course to Become a $1 Billion E-Commerce Brand
- Week of 2011-11-13
- 11/17/11 Abercrombie Slump Overdone, Despite Margin Concerns
- 11/14/11 Abercrombie & Fitch Preview: International Strategy in Focus
- Week of 2011-10-30
- Week of 2011-06-26
- Week of 2011-06-12
- Week of 2011-05-29
- Week of 2011-04-24
- Week of 2011-04-17
- Week of 2011-03-27
- 03/31/11 A&F Looking Abroad for Growth
- 03/29/11 Cotton Price Trends Look Good on Aeropostale
- Week of 2011-02-13
- Week of 2011-02-06
- Week of 2011-01-23
- Week of 2011-01-09
- 01/13/11 Urban Outfitters Growth in Stores, Internet & Catalog Business to Lift Stock
- 01/12/11 Abercrombie Sales Up Over Holidays, Where to From Here?
- Week of 2011-01-02
- 01/07/11 Holiday Sales Data Could Bring Cheer for Gap’s Stock
- 01/04/11 Positive Outlook for Aeropostale Despite Recent Sales Slowdown
- 01/03/11 American Eagle Lagging Competitors’ Growth, but Stock Remains Cheap
- Week of 2010-12-26
- Week of 2010-12-19
- Week of 2010-12-12
- 12/15/10 Could Gap Store Profit Margins Continue Growth Pace?
- 12/14/10 Could Gap’s International Expansion Stall?
- Week of 2010-11-28
- 12/03/10 Gap Stores is What Amount of Gap Stock?
- 12/03/10 Is Victoria’s Secret the Key to Limited Brands Upside?
- 12/01/10 Strong Q4 Retail Trends Could Lift AEO
- 11/29/10 J. Crew’s Prospects Brighten on Earnings, Buyout
- Week of 2010-11-21
- Week of 2010-11-14
- Week of 2010-09-05
- Week of 2010-08-22
- 08/26/10 Direct Sales Boost Specialty Retail Stocks
- 08/24/10 Banana Republic Stores Can Drive Growth for Gap
- Week of 2010-08-15
- Week of 2010-08-01
- 08/05/10 A&F and Hollister Store Counts Important for ANF’s Stock
- 08/04/10 Slightly Lower Expectations for J.Crew’s Revenue per Square Foot
- 08/04/10 Limited Brands’ Stock Could Get Boost from Victoria’s Secret International Stores
- Week of 2010-07-25
- 07/29/10 Flat Margins for Aeropostale Stores Could Weaken ARO Stock
- 07/28/10 American Eagle’s Revenue per Square Foot Expected to Trend Up
- 07/26/10 Aeropostale’s Sales Could Slump as Economy Recovers
- Week of 2010-07-18
- Week of 2010-07-11
- 07/15/10 American Eagle’s aerie Brand Poised for Growth
- 07/12/10 Abercrombie’s Hollister Revenues Should Recover with U.S. Economy
- Week of 2010-07-04
- Week of 2010-06-27
- 07/02/10 American Eagle and Abercrombie & Fitch Compete for Younger Shoppers
- 06/28/10 Profit Margins Key to American Eagle’s Growth
- Week of 2010-06-20
- 06/23/10 Retail Competition Could Hurt Gap Stock
- 06/23/10 Anthropologie by Urban Outfitters Targets Affluent Women with Lifestyle Store Designs
- 06/22/10 Revenue per Square Foot Begins to Recover at Gap and Old Navy Stores
- Week of 2010-06-13
- 06/15/10 Aeropostale Expected to Outperform Peers: $55 Trefis Price Estimate
- 06/14/10 Lean Inventories and High Turnover Key for Urban Outfitters
- Week of 2010-06-06
- Week of 2010-05-30