CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2024 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
Scroll To Top
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
Mike Jeffries, CEO of the once mighty retailer Abercrombie & Fitch, resigned this week. While normally it would be an unfortunate loss to have a gay member of the business community who's achieved such a high position, Mike Jeffries was a notorious creep--so no big loss.
Jeffries, who took over the clothier in 1992 when it was still selling sporting gear and outdoor clothing, repositioned the brand, transforming it into the must-have mallwear for the new millennium. Part of his major overhaul was rebranding A&F, getting rid the middle-aged woodsmen and substituting gym-toned, well-quaffed, overwhelmingly white models. Photographer Bruce Weber was brought into feature these frat-boy type models in homoerotic positions.
Soon, however, tastes changed and A&F's sales declined--something that Jeffries couldn't correct. Young consumers started to prefer cheaper, "fast-fashion" retailers such as Zara, H&M, and Forever 21.
It is unclear if the 70-year-old Jeffries was asked to step down or if he left of his own volition. Jeffries in recent years has made a number of inflammatory statements which netted the brand a good deal of bad press.
In a 2006 profile in Salon, Jeffries told Benoit Denizet-Lewis:
"It's almost everything. That's why we hire good-looking people in our stores. Because good-looking people attract other good-looking people, and we want to market to cool, good-looking people. We don't market to anyone other than that."
"In every school there are the cool and popular kids, and then there are the not-so-cool kids," said Jeffries in the same article. "Candidly, we go after the cool kids. We go after the attractive all-American kid with a great attitude and a lot of friends. A lot of people don't belong [in our clothes], and they can't belong."
"Are we exclusionary? Absolutely. Those companies that are in trouble are trying to target everybody: young, old, fat, skinny. But then you become totally vanilla. You don't alienate anybody, but you don't excite anybody, either."
Furthermore, Jeffries began to be known for his bizarre behavior, including making the crew on his all-male-model staffed corporate jet wear a uniform of Abercrombie polo shirts, boxer briefs, flip-flops and adhere to a 40-plus page manual detailing instructions for everything from the proper color of gloves to handle silverware and the seating arrangements for the CEO's dogs.
Jeffries' successor has not been named.
From Your Site Articles
Want more breaking equality news & trending entertainment stories?
Check out our NEW 24/7 streaming service: the Advocate Channel!
Download the Advocate Channel App for your mobile phone and your favorite streaming device!
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
38 Male Celebs Who Did Full Frontal Scenes
November 17 2023 5:18 PM
These are all the celebrities Who came out as LGBTQ+ in 2023
December 31 2023 12:19 PM
29 LGBTQ+ celebs you can follow on OnlyFans
April 18 2024 1:00 PM
26 actors who showed bare ass in movies & TV shows
February 28 2024 1:50 PM
16 times male celebrities had to say they weren't gay
April 17 2024 11:57 AM
21 LGBTQ+ reality dating shows & where to watch them
April 03 2024 4:01 PM
15 Unforgettable Gay Kissing Scenes From TV & Movies
February 14 2024 10:20 AM
14 queens who quit or retired from drag after 'RuPaul's Drag Race'
April 04 2024 12:56 PM
40 steamy celebrity Calvin Klein ads we'll always be thirsty for
January 04 2024 10:54 AM
The 15 Best LGBTQ+ Movies of 2023
December 04 2023 10:32 AM
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Latest Stories
April 22, 2024
22h
Meet Ludmilla, the queer Black Latina singer who conquered Coachella
April 20 2024 9:34 PM
Watch the 'Drag Race' season 16 finalists react to the winning queen's crowning
April 20 2024 3:56 PM
Here's how 'Drag Race' fans can buy Sasha Colby's line of ponytail extensions
April 19 2024 10:23 PM
The 'Drag Race' season 16 finale just made Miss Congeniality herstory
April 19 2024 9:38 PM
Here's who won 'RuPaul's Drag Race' season 16
April 19 2024 9:31 PM
'Drag Race All Stars 9' was finally announced—here's when & where to watch
April 19 2024 8:16 PM
Taylor Swift is tortured & Willow Smith has big feelings on this New Music Friday
April 19 2024 5:36 PM