Turnaround efforts are taking hold at teen-apparel retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, with the company’s Hollister brand leading the way, executives said on the company’s third-quarter earnings call.
Same-store sales grew by 4 percent, thanks to increased traffic at Hollister, said COO Joanne Crevoiserat. Investment in store renovations and digital programs helped fuel the quarter and are the key to future growth, she said. “It's important to us that we are driving the traffic back to our stores channel, particularly as we're going through a transition phase. It gives us an opportunity to interface with those customers and show them our new experiences and our new product.”
The retailer plans on growing its omni-channel capabilities even more in coming months. “Our purchase online, pick up in store is performing particularly strong. With 75 percent year-on-year growth this quarter, more customers are taking advantage of this and other aspects of our omni-functionality, such as order-in-store, which is also showing a strong customer response,” said CEO Fran Horowitz-Bonadies.
The company will continue to resize its fleet of stores, downsizing some, and closing up to 60 stores in the U.S. through natural lease expirations this year, including the 14 stores closed year-to-date, Crevoiserat said. “We have 50 percent of our U.S. leases expiring by the end of 2018, and we continue to have significant lease flexibility and expect to have flexibility beyond that date.”
By Brannon Boswell
Executive Editor, Commerce + Communities Today
