Abercrombie & Fitch and Zappos.com have partnered to add curated Abercrombie & Fitch items to Zappos’ ecommerce shop. The selection includes size-inclusive denim and essential tops for women and kids, as well as an exclusive footwear capsule available only on Zappos.com and Abercrombie.com. The capsule encompasses eight styles including an ankle boot, stovepipe boot, court sneaker and strappy heel, and each footwear piece correlates with an Abercrombie & Fitch denim style .
Additionally, Zappos will highlight Abercrombie’s denim in its Denim Shop during a two-week takeover and will feature Abercrombie outfits for Mom’s & Mini’s, which includes matching looks from the Abercrombie adults and Abercrombie kids brands.
“We design with the intention of making every day feel as exceptional as the start of a long weekend, and we’re so proud to now bring that vibe to the entire outfit, head-to-toe, with our friends at Zappos,” said Carey Collins Krug, SVP and Head of Marketing at Abercrombie & Fitch in a statement. “In addition, we’re excited Zappos is offering some of our most popular and in-demand products on their own seamless experience, which supports our goal of meeting our customers on the channels where they’re spending their time.”
Abercrombie had been moving in a digital direction even before the pandemic caused many retailers to rethink their physical footprint. The retailer declared online its “largest storefront” in Q4 2018 after DTC sales grew to approximately 34% of total company net sales. That total has only continued to rise, reaching 54% in 2020 and with more than $150 million invested in digital performance between 2017 and 2020.
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The retailer continued to shrink its brick-and-mortar presence in 2019, both through store closures and by focusing on smaller footprints. The retailer has shrunk its total square footage by 23% since 2017 by reducing its total number of stores from 868 to 731, cutting flagships from 19 to 6 while increasing the number of new format stores from 202 to 361.
The change in direction has been paying off so far. In Q1 2021, net sales for both Abercrombie and Hollister rose to $296 million, up 61% compared to Q1 2020 and 6% compared to Q1 2019, marking the retailer’s best Q1 performance since 2008.
