Abercrombie and Fitch's (A&F) Irish stores have been booming, but it has been a rough six months for the New Albany-based fashion retailer. Recent Irish figures showed that sales here had soared by more than 50 per cent, but internationally both the teen-market and the stock market are losing their faith in the brand. The company’s latest figures show that its total sales fell by 12 percent in the last quarter.

This marked the second difficult quarter in a row and results were poorer than the market's already lukewarm expectations. The share price fell by 14 percent after the figures were released.

Why the drop?

A&F's Chief Executive Mike Jeffries has blamed poor footfall in the brand’s physical stores and the slowing European economy for the decline in sales. He also indicated that the company were planning to continue to rework its products.

The company is facing more competition from fast-fashion retailers like H&M, Forever 21, and Zara on both sides of the Atlantic.

Troubles have also started to drift to its other brands; sales of the company’s Hollister label have been particularly poor.

No Logos

At its most successful, Abercrombie and Fitch sold itself as an aspirational brand. The company's own literature has described itself as “the essence of privilege and casual luxury,” and a “combination of classic and sexy [that] creates a charged atmosphere that is confident and just a bit provocative.”

When the company began to release poor figures one of the first major announcements it made was that it would be cutting the prominence of the brand's logos on its clothes.

This was spun as a reaction to consumer trends, but it was broadly commented on as a sign that A&F was losing traction with young consumers. Teens are figuratively and literally no longer buying the brand.

Where to from here?

The company’s price point is a real problem, still being much higher than most of its ‘fast-fashion’ rivals. If buyers don’t want an expensive A&F branded t-shirt, then the company has to work out how to sell them an expensive unbranded A&F t-shirt.

Right now, on A&F's European website a basic flannel shirt will set you back €78, putting its prices above most high street retailers, including Topshop and Topman.

A&F has not made major changes to its lines since the turn of the millennium. Abandoning its out-of-step brand ideals to chase the latest trends and compete with cheaper and more fashion conscious competitors, it faces a real challenge to get any traction in this fast-paced market.

If A&F fail in this difficult task, then you can expect more bad news from the company in the coming quarters.